Method and system for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks for packaging articles

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks for packaging articles. Within the scope of the method, a plurality of packaging blanks are stored in a vertical or horizontal stack in a packaging warehouse (20), wherein the respective packaging blank located at the front or the top of the stack is removed from the vertical or horizontal stack by means of a handling device (50) from a predetermined extraction position of the packaging warehouse (20) and unloaded onto a horizontal conveyor. Subsequently, the packaging warehouse (20) can deliver another packaging blank located at the front or the top to the extraction position at a predetermined transport speed. The method proposes that data on the remaining height or length of a vertical or horizontal stack are measured by at least one sensor device (6) and transmitted to an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S), which, taking into account the data and additionally taking into account the clock frequency of the operation of removing the packaging blanks (12) performed by the handling device (50), derives information about the thickness of the removed packaging blanks (12) and outputs the derived information to the user in a visual manner and / or takes the derived information into account in another open-loop and / or closed-loop control process of the transport speed of the packaging warehouse (20) and / or the clock frequency of the handling device (50).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method and a system for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks for packaging articles. Background Art

[0002] There are different types of packaging for processing, assembling, grouping, and packaging items such as beverage containers. If certain items, such as beverage containers formed from thin-walled PET containers, have low dimensional stability, these beverage containers are often placed on packaging blanks made of cardboard and / or paper to prevent unwanted damage during transport. These packaging blanks are also called trays or pads and may have edge areas that are folded upward when the items or beverage containers are packaged.

[0003] Also known are packaging blanks consisting solely of a flat backing sheet without an edge region, wherein individual articles or, where appropriate, corresponding combinations of a plurality of articles are placed vertically on this flat backing sheet. Subsequently, the articles or combinations of articles placed vertically on the tray or packaging blank can be wrapped with a thermoplastic packaging film. The articles or combinations of articles placed vertically on the tray or packaging blank are then fed into a heat shrink tunnel, and the thermoplastic packaging material is heat-pressed onto the articles or combinations of articles.

[0004] In practice, such packaging blanks are provided in a stack, from which they are successively removed and subsequently placed on a horizontal conveyor. Groups of articles can then be placed and, in various embodiments, provided with thermoplastic packaging material. To remove the packaging blanks, handling devices, known as cyclonic separators, are used in practice.

[0005] To accommodate stacks of packaging blanks, packaging magazines are known in the prior art, into which the corresponding stacks are placed in a horizontal position. In other embodiments known in the prior art, the packaging magazines are constructed as vertical stacks capable of accommodating packaging blanks. In this way, the aforementioned handling device can receive the front or upper packaging blank from the stack, remove it from the stack, and place it on a horizontal conveyor.

[0006] Until now, it has been assumed that all packaging blanks in a stack have the same thickness. Before commissioning such a singulation device, the user stores this thickness in an open-loop and / or closed-loop control system. The singulation device is then open-loop or closed-loop controlled based on the packaging blank thickness thus stored.

[0007] However, practice has shown that the predetermined or known thickness of the packaging blanks does not necessarily correspond to the actual thickness of the packaging blanks in the stack. If the actual thickness of the packaging blanks differs from the stored thickness, this can lead to numerous problems during the singulation of the packaging blanks or during the subsequent production of bundles, in which the items are placed upright on the packaging blanks removed from the stack. For example, a handling device may not be able to accurately grasp the corresponding packaging blanks or may lose packaging blanks during their movement toward a horizontal conveyor.

[0008] As a result, the articles may not arrive at their intended position on the respective packaging blank at a later point in time, which in turn may result in a higher proportion of bales with manufacturing defects, so that known packaging devices using such singulation devices result in a certain rate of defective bales.

[0009] For example, the tray of a finished bale may not be closed or may be open. The folding fingers used to align the tray's side panels may be in the wrong position, causing problems during the tray folding process. These existing problems are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be listed here. Summary of the Invention

[0010] In view of this, the object of the present invention is to provide a method and a similar system, by which the aforementioned problems are at least partially avoided. In addition, the method should be easy to implement and the corresponding system should have a simple structure.

[0011] The present invention relates to a method for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks for packaging articles. The articles packaged by means of the packaging blanks can be constructed as beverage containers, or as beverage bottles and / or beverage cans, for example.

[0012] In the first step, the packaging blanks are stored in a vertical or horizontal stack by the packaging warehouse. The stacked blank located at the front or top of the stack is removed from the vertical or horizontal stack by a handling device at a predetermined retrieval position in the packaging warehouse and unloaded onto a horizontal conveyor. The packaging warehouse can then deliver another packaging blank located at the front or top to the retrieval position at a predetermined transport speed.

[0013] The packaging store may comprise a conveyor belt for pushing the stack of packaging blanks towards the extraction position. A pushing element may be provided on the conveyor belt, which comes into surface contact with the packaging blank located at the rear in terms of transport direction and pushes the stack of packaging blanks towards the extraction position.

[0014] In this embodiment, the packaging warehouse can drive the conveyor belt in a circular motion, thereby feeding the packaging blanks located at the front to the retrieval position at a predetermined transport speed. This circular motion of the conveyor belt allows packaging blanks stored in a horizontal stack to be moved, particularly horizontally. The packaging warehouse can be configured to accommodate a single horizontal or vertical stack of packaging blanks. In other embodiments, the packaging warehouse can be configured to accommodate multiple horizontal or vertical stacks of packaging blanks.

[0015] In other embodiments, the packaging warehouse may include a lifting device on which the packaging blanks are stored in a vertical stack, wherein the corresponding packaging blank located at the top of the stack is removed from a predetermined retrieval position in the packaging warehouse by means of a transport device. In such embodiments, the lifting device of the packaging warehouse is capable of vertically lifting the packaging blanks stored in the vertical stack so as to transport the packaging blank located at the top to the retrieval position at a predetermined transport speed.

[0016] The handling device may include at least one deflection arm, on which a plurality of suction heads are provided for establishing a connection with the corresponding packaging blanks by means of negative pressure so as to remove the corresponding packaging blank located at the front or top from the stack.

[0017] After the packaging blank removed from the stack is unloaded onto the horizontal conveying device, the connection with the corresponding packaging blank established by the negative pressure can be cancelled, and the at least one deflection arm together with the suction head provided on the at least one deflection arm can be moved back toward the packaging warehouse to remove another packaging blank.

[0018] However, the present invention is not limited to this type of embodiment. Therefore, in other embodiments, the handling device can, for example, include multiple clamping elements and / or gripping elements to remove the corresponding packaging blank located at the top of the stack from a predetermined extraction position in the packaging warehouse from the vertical or horizontal stack and unload it onto a horizontal conveying device.

[0019] Within the scope of the method of the present invention, it is proposed that data about the remaining height or length of a vertical or horizontal stack are determined by means of at least one sensor device, and that, in an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device, information about the thickness of the removed packaging blanks is derived taking into account said data and additionally taking into account the clock frequency of the operation of removing the packaging blanks carried out by the handling device, and the derived information is output to the user in a visual manner and / or the derived information is taken into account in a further open-loop and / or closed-loop control process of the transport speed of the packaging warehouse and / or the clock frequency of the handling device.

[0020] The detection range of the at least one sensor device for determining the remaining height or length of a vertical or horizontal stack can be directed from behind or from below towards the rearmost packaging blank of the vertical or horizontal stack.

[0021] The at least one sensing mechanism may also include at least three sensors positioned at a distance from one another along the height or length of the vertical or horizontal stack. In this case, the detection ranges of the at least three sensors may be directed toward one side of the vertical or horizontal stack, respectively.

[0022] Furthermore, in a proven advantageous embodiment, the at least three sensors are each designed as a light barrier. In other embodiments, the at least one sensor device can be designed as a camera system. Accordingly, the at least three sensors can also each be designed as a camera system. It is also conceivable that the at least three sensors are each designed as a tactile sensor.

[0023] It is conceivable that the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device uses the information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank to check whether the thickness of the removed packaging blank is within a predetermined tolerance range. In this case, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device determines during the checking process that the thickness of the removed packaging blank is outside the tolerance range, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device can output a fault message to the user.

[0024] The present invention also relates to a system for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks for packaging articles. The features previously described for various embodiments of the method are also applicable to the embodiments of the system described below and will not be further elaborated. The system includes a packaging magazine configured to accommodate vertical or horizontal stacks of packaging blanks.

[0025] The system also includes a handling device capable of removing the respective packaging blank located at the front or top of the stack from a predetermined removal position in the packaging magazine from a vertical or horizontal stack. The handling device can be designed as a so-called gyroscopic separator. In a proven advantageous embodiment, the handling device is designed as a multi-axis robot or industrial robot.

[0026] The packaging storage is constructed in a manner such that another packaging blank immediately located at the front or top of the stack can be fed to the extraction position at a predetermined transport speed. In order to feed the another packaging blank immediately located at the front or top of the stack to the extraction position, the packaging storage may include at least one conveyor belt.

[0027] The system further comprises an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device connected to the handling device and to at least one sensor means for measuring data on the remaining height or length of the vertical or horizontal stack and transmitting the data to the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device.

[0028] In addition, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device is constructed in a certain way so that, taking into account the data and additionally taking into account the clock frequency of the operation of removing the packaging blanks carried out by the handling device, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device can derive information about the thickness of the removed packaging blanks.

[0029] In the system, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device can be designed to output information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank to the user in a visual manner. For this purpose, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device can optionally have a display, preferably designed as a touch screen, or be connected to a display, preferably designed as a touch screen.

[0030] As an alternative or in addition, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device can be designed to perform open-loop and / or closed-loop control of the transport speed of the packaging warehouse and / or open-loop and / or closed-loop control of the clock frequency of the handling device while taking into account the information derived about the thickness of the removed packaging blanks.

[0031] In a proven advantageous embodiment, the detection range of the at least one sensor device is oriented in such a way that it looks from behind or from below towards the rearmost packaging blank of the vertical or horizontal stack accommodated in the packaging magazine.

[0032] The at least one sensing mechanism may also include at least three sensors, which are positioned at a certain distance from each other along the height or length of the stack of packaging blanks vertically or horizontally accommodated in the packaging magazine.

[0033] The at least three sensors can each be designed as a light barrier.For the sensors or several of the sensors used, different measuring principles can also be used, such as optical detection and / or ultrasonic measurement or other measuring principles.

[0034] The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device may also be configured to utilize the information regarding the thickness of the removed packaging blank to verify whether the thickness of the removed packaging blank is within a predetermined tolerance range. Furthermore, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device determines during the verification process that the thickness of the removed packaging blank is outside the tolerance range, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device may output a fault message to a user.

[0035] It should be clearly stated here that all aspects and implementation variants explained in conjunction with the system of the present invention also relate to or may be partial aspects of the method of the present invention. Therefore, if certain aspects and / or interrelationships and / or effects are mentioned at any point in the description of the system of the present invention, then this also applies to the method of the present invention. The same applies in reverse, so that all aspects and implementation variants explained in conjunction with the method of the present invention also relate to or may be partial aspects of the system of the present invention. Therefore, if certain aspects and / or interrelationships and / or effects are mentioned at any point in the description of the method of the present invention, then this also applies to the system of the present invention. As the case may be, the system can be constructed to implement the aforementioned embodiments of the method of the present invention.

[0036] In the following, embodiments of the present invention and their advantages will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. The size ratios of the individual elements in the drawings do not always correspond to the actual size ratios, since some shapes are simplified and others are enlarged compared to other elements for better illustration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of the system according to the invention and illustrates individual steps that can be provided in various embodiments of the method according to the invention.

[0038] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of the system according to the invention and illustrates individual steps that may be provided in various embodiments of the method according to the invention.

[0039] Figure 3 Shows the Figure 1 and Figure 2 Various details of the implementation of the system.

[0040] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a packaging blank ( Figure 4A and Figure 4B ), these packaging blanks can be individualized with the aid of various embodiments of the system and can be arranged in various embodiments for implementing the method of the invention.

[0041] Figure 5 The flow chart shows individual steps in various embodiments of the method according to the invention, which can be provided individually or in combination as shown in FIG. 4 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The same reference numerals are used for elements of the present invention that are identical or have the same effect. Furthermore, for clarity, only the reference numerals necessary for the description of the corresponding figure are depicted in a single figure. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples of the design solutions of the present invention and do not represent conclusive limitations.

[0043] The embodiments, examples and variants of the preceding paragraphs or the following description and drawings, including their various views or corresponding individual features, can be used independently of each other or in any combination. Features described in conjunction with one embodiment apply to all embodiments, unless these features are contradictory.

[0044] Although the drawings and views described in conjunction with the figures are generally "schematic," this in no way implies that the drawings and their description are of secondary importance to the disclosure of the present invention. A person skilled in the art is fully capable of deriving sufficient information from the schematic and abstractly drawn illustrations to facilitate their understanding of the present invention, without any impairment of understanding due to, for example, the drawn and possibly not entirely to scale dimensional relationships. Thus, these drawings enable the reader, a person skilled in the art, to better understand the inventive concepts presented in a more general and / or abstract manner in the claims and the general portion of the description, with the aid of a specifically explained implementation of the method according to the present invention and a specifically explained functional principle of the system according to the present invention.

[0045] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of a system 1 according to the invention and illustrates individual steps that may be provided in various embodiments of a method 100 according to the invention.

[0046] The system 1 comprises a packaging magazine 20 which is designed as a horizontal stack (not shown here) for accommodating packaging blanks 12 (see Figure 4A and Figure 4B ). With the aid of the system 1 , horizontal stacks of packaging blanks can be transported in a transport direction TR.

[0047] For transport, the packaging magazine 20 comprises two conveyor belts 22 and 24, which are driven in a circular manner and push the corresponding stack horizontally along the transport direction TR at a predetermined transport speed. The corresponding packaging blank located at the front comes into surface contact with the stop 7 of the packaging magazine 20.

[0048] Afterwards, you can Figure 1 and Figure 2 The handling device 50, which is only schematically shown, removes this forward-located package blank from the stack, transports it along a predetermined transport path, and unloads it onto a horizontal conveyor. Subsequently, other devices unload the articles onto the package blank, which in this case is still located on the horizontal conveyor.

[0049] Furthermore, a thermoplastic packaging material can be applied to the article on the packaging blank and subsequently heat-pressed onto the article by a heat shrink tunnel (not shown).

[0050] After the handling device 50 removes the packaging blank from the stack, the packaging magazine 20 needs to supply another packaging blank, which then comes into surface contact with the stop 7 and is removed by the handling device 50 in a subsequent processing step.

[0051] Therefore, the clock frequency used by the handling device 50 to remove package blanks from the stack needs to be set in a manner that is linked to the transport speed of the packaging warehouse 20. Therefore, the transport speed is set by the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S in a manner that matches the clock frequency. Therefore, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S is connected to both the packaging warehouse 20 and the handling device 50.

[0052] In the prior art, the user has previously stored information about the thickness of the respective packaging blank in an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S. However, practice has shown that the actual thickness of the packaging blank may differ from the expected thickness. If the actual thickness is within a predetermined tolerance range, there are no problems with the correct removal of the packaging blank by the handling device 50, the subsequent positioning of the packaging blank on the horizontal conveyor, and the packaging of the articles by unloading the packaging blank onto or positioned on the horizontal conveyor.

[0053] If the ratio between the transport speed and the clock frequency of the handling device 50 differs from the ratio set for the thickness of the packaging blanks, the handling device 50 may, for example, be unable to grasp the corresponding packaging blank located at the front of the stack, or may only grasp it in the wrong position, so that problems may arise during the reception of the packaging blanks and during the transport of the packaging blanks toward the horizontal conveyor device.

[0054] In these situations, the handling device 50 may not accurately drop the packaging blanks onto the predetermined location on the horizontal conveyor, potentially causing the items to be incorrectly dropped onto the corresponding packaging blanks at a later time. Therefore, it can be seen that the transport speed used by the packaging warehouse 20 to move the items along the transport direction TR must be matched to the clock frequency of the handling device 50. This matching must take into account the thickness of the packaging blanks held by the packaging warehouse 20.

[0055] In order to avoid the problems already described, the system 1 or the packaging magazine 20 formed as a component of the system 1 comprises a sensor system 6 , which is designed here as a light barrier 8 . Figure 1The arrow in the figure represents the viewing direction BR, along which the detection range of the sensor means 6 or the light barrier 8 is oriented. Figure 1 The rearmost packaging blank of the stack, which is not shown and is accommodated by the packaging magazine 20, is also shown.

[0056] When the packaging blanks are gradually removed from the stack by the handling device 50 and the stack is then further moved in the transport direction TR by means of the conveyor belts 22 and 24, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S is able to identify the remaining length of the stack still accommodated in the packaging warehouse 20 in the transport direction TR via the sensor device 6 or via the light barrier 8.

[0057] In other words, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can perform distance measurements via the sensor system 6 or via the light barrier 8 and infer therefrom the length of the remaining stack in the transport direction TR still accommodated by the packaging magazine 20 .

[0058] In accordance with Figure 1 In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , the packaging magazine 20 has a simple structure, since, in practice, it is sufficient to detect the remaining length of the stack of packaging blanks in the transport direction TR using precisely one sensor device 6 or precisely one light barrier 8 .

[0059] In this case, the precisely one sensor device 6 or the precisely one light barrier 8 serves as a distance sensor, with which the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can infer the still remaining length of the stack of packaging blanks accommodated by the packaging magazine 20 .

[0060] The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S is also connected to the handling device 50. The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S therefore knows the clock frequency of the handling device 50 during the removal of the packaging blanks from the stack.

[0061] Based on the computational storage on the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S is able to infer the actual thickness of the packaging blank or derive information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank, taking into account the data about the remaining length of the stack and, additionally, taking into account the clock frequency of the packaging blank removal operation carried out by the handling device 50.

[0062] The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S then outputs this information on a display, so that the user can easily determine the actual thickness of the packaging blank removed from the stack. This allows the user to react quickly if the thickness of the packaging blank removed is no longer within the predetermined tolerance range.

[0063] In accordance with Figure 1In the embodiment of the present invention, and also in other embodiments of the present invention, it is provided that information about a tolerance range for the thickness of the packaging blanks is stored in the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S, within which the system 1 can operate without problems and can also package articles with the removed packaging blanks without problems. The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can thereby check whether the measured thickness of the removed packaging blanks lies within this tolerance range and output an error message if the measured thickness of the removed packaging blanks exceeds the tolerance range.

[0064] In order to be able to continue packaging work without interruption even if the tolerance range is exceeded, Figure 1 In an embodiment, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S determines that the actual thickness of the removed packaging blank is outside the tolerance range, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S performs closed-loop control of the transport speed of the packaging warehouse 20 or the clock frequency of the handling device 50. Here, the closed-loop control is performed in a manner such that insufficient or excessive thickness of the packaging blank is compensated by reducing or increasing the transport speed of the packaging warehouse 20 and / or increasing or decreasing the clock frequency of the handling device 50.

[0065] This closed-loop control enables trouble-free packaging even when the thickness of the packaging blanks lies outside the permissible tolerance range.

[0066] Figure 2 A schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of the system 1 of the present invention is provided, illustrating various steps which may be provided in a method 100 according to the present invention (see Figure 5 ) in various implementations.

[0067] Figure 2 The embodiment in the embodiment also comprises a packaging magazine 20, which is constructed to accommodate packaging blanks 12 (see Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B ) of a horizontal stack not shown. Figure 2 In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the respective packaging blank located at the front of the horizontal stack is also removed from the stack by means of the handling device 50 and is unloaded or positioned on a horizontal conveying device (not shown).

[0068] First, the clock frequency of the handling device 50 and the transport speed of the packaging warehouse 20 are controlled by the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S and the packaging blanks 12 (see Figure 4A and Figure 4B) matches the expected or predetermined thickness of the stack, which is saved by the user in the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S or, as the case may be, is automatically determined by the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S during the commissioning process, taking into account the data about the remaining length of the stack and the clock frequency of the handling device 50.

[0069] The basis of System 1 Figure 2 The implementation method and system 1 are based on Figure 1 The embodiments differ in the design or positioning of the sensor device 6 and in the manner in which the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S infers the length of the stack of packaging blanks 12 still remaining with the aid of the sensor device 6 .

[0070] Accordingly, according to Figure 2 The sensor system 6 in the exemplary embodiment comprises a plurality of individual sensors 6', which are positioned one after the other in the transport direction TR of the packaging magazine 20 and are each designed as a light barrier 8. The detection range or viewing direction BR of the respective sensor 6' is diagonal or perpendicular to the transport direction TR of the packaging magazine 20. When a new stack of packaging blanks is received by the magazine 20, all sensors 6' or all light barriers 8 are initially occupied by the stack.

[0071] As the forward-most packaging blanks are successively removed by the handling device 50, the length of the stack decreases, so that the first sensor 6', previously occupied by the stack, becomes exposed. The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can then detect that this sensor 6' is no longer occupied by the horizontal stack of packaging blanks 12 from a specific point in time. As further forward-most packaging blanks 12 are removed from the horizontal stack, another subsequent sensor 6' becomes exposed or unoccupied at a specific point in time.

[0072] This is also detected by the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S connected to all sensors 6 ′. Based on whether the sensor 6 ′ is occupied, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can therefore indirectly infer the length of the remaining stack of horizontal packaging blanks accommodated by the packaging magazine 20.

[0073] In accordance with Figure 2 In the exemplary embodiment, the handling device 50 is also connected to the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S. Therefore, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S knows the clock frequency at which the handling device 50 removes the respective packaging blank located at the front from the horizontal stack of packaging blanks. Based on the respective length of the stack of packaging blanks still remaining and the respective clock frequency at which the handling device 50 has previously removed packaging blanks from the stack, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can infer the actual thickness of the packaging blanks.

[0074] According to Figure 1 The embodiment corresponds to Figure 2 For the embodiment of the present invention, it is also proposed that the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S outputs information about the thickness of the packaging blank to the user in a visual manner. Figure 1 The embodiment corresponds to Figure 2 The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S of the embodiment can also determine whether the measured packaging blank thickness is within a predetermined tolerance range. If not, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can output an error message to the user or, as appropriate, perform corresponding closed-loop control of the clock frequency and / or the transport speed of the packaging magazine 20.

[0075] Figure 3 Shows the basis of System 1 Figure 1 and Figure 2 Details of the implementation method. Figure 3 In particular, an area of ​​the packaging warehouse 20 is shown, where the transport device 50 (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 ) from which the packaging blank 12 (see Figure 4A and Figure 4B ) is removed from the stack horizontally accommodated by the packaging library 20. Therefore, Figure 3 A removal position is shown, from which the handling device 50 removes the respective packaging blank that is located furthest forward and that is in surface contact with the stop 7 from the packaging magazine 20 .

[0076] As described above, the packaging blank located at the front of the horizontal stack comes into contact with the stop 7, after which the handling device 50 removes this packaging blank 12 located at the front from the stack and guides it away from the packaging magazine 20. In order to remove another packaging blank located immediately at the front from the remaining stack by means of the handling device 50, the entire stack is pushed in the transport direction TR by means of the conveyor belts 22 and 24, so that this other packaging blank located immediately at the front is brought to the removal position.

[0077] Here, if Figure 3 As shown, a sensor 6 ′ is provided in the end region of the packaging magazine 20 , or in the removal position for the respective packaging blank located furthest forward, wherein the sensor is again a light barrier 8 .

[0078] In other embodiments, the sensor 6' can also be configured as a camera system or a button, for example. The sensor 6' is connected to an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S. Before the handling device 50 removes the frontmost packaging blank 12 from the stack, the sensor 6' is occupied by the frontmost packaging blank 12. After the handling device 50 removes the previously frontmost packaging blank from the stack, the sensor 6' is not occupied for a specific period of time immediately thereafter, until the packaging magazine 20 delivers another packaging blank to the removal position using the conveyor belts 22 and 24.

[0079] As a result, the sensor 6' is occupied again. Therefore, the duration for which the sensor 6' is occupied is always closely related to the thickness of the packaging blank and the transport speed of the packaging magazine 20 used to replenish the corresponding packaging blank located at the front to the extraction position. The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S knows the duration for which the sensor 6' is occupied by the corresponding packaging blank located at the front.

[0080] If the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S determines, via sensor 6', that the corresponding occupancy duration differs from a known or predetermined duration, it can notify the user of this fact. For example, if the corresponding frontmost packaging blank is bent or uneven, the occupancy duration of sensor 6' may increase, resulting in a discrepancy. The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can then infer an error and indicate this error to the user. The user can then verify whether the bent or deformed packaging blank will cause problems with further packaging work.

[0081] Sensor 6' Figure 3 The positions in FIG. 6 are merely examples; the sensor 6 ′ can therefore also be arranged, for example, at a position past which the removed packaging blank is moved by the handling device 50 .

[0082] It has also proven advantageous if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control system S has a database in which previously occurred errors are assigned to corresponding error causes. If the open-loop and / or closed-loop control system S subsequently detects a similar or identical error reoccurring, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control system S can display information about the possible error cause on a display. Thus, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control system S detects a possible warping of the packaging blank based on the engagement of the sensor 6 ′, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control system S can, for example, provide information about this warping to the user.

[0083] The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S can also be connected to the control system. In the case of detecting a corresponding error, in such an embodiment, the subsequent processing steps can be closed-loop controlled accordingly, so that errors during further processing steps can be compensated as much as possible.

[0084] Figure 4A and Figure 4B 1 are schematic illustrations of packaging blanks 12 that can be singulated using various embodiments of the system 1 and provided in various embodiments for carrying out the method 100 of the present invention.

[0085] like Figure 4AThe packaging blank 12 shown is a so-called tray 13 having a plurality of side flaps 9 which are folded upwards and thus hold a plurality of articles placed upright on the tray 13 in a form-fitting manner.

[0086] like Figure 4B The packaging blank 12 shown is a so-called PAD, which has two mutually parallel wide sides. One of these mutually parallel wide sides, or the upper wide side of these mutually parallel wide sides, forms a flat support surface for the article. Figure 4B The thickness of the packaging blank 12 is indicated by the number 30 and the associated arrow diagram, wherein the ... Figure 1 and Figure 2 Implementation method, and with the help of the following Figure 5 In the method 100 described in , information about this thickness is derived from the remaining length of the stack of packaging blanks and the clock cycle of the handling device 50 .

[0087] Figure 5 The flowchart shows that in various embodiments of the method 100 of the present invention, the Figure 5 In the processing step 110, the handling device 50 periodically moves the packaging blank 12 (see Figure 4A and Figure 4B ) is removed from the stack. Here, the stack of packaging blanks is taken from the packaging magazine 20 (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 ) are stored horizontally, however, in other embodiments, the stacks can also be stored vertically by the packaging library.

[0088] During this removal operation, a processing step 120 is carried out, in which the sensor system 6 determines data about the remaining length of the stack and transmits these data to the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S. The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S is connected to the handling device 50 and thus knows the clock frequency at which the handling device 50 removes the respective frontmost packaging blank 12 from the stack.

[0089] In processing step 130 , the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S derives information about the corresponding thickness of the removed packaging blank 12 , for which purpose the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S takes into account data about the remaining length of the horizontal stack and the clock frequency of the removal operation carried out by the handling device 50 .

[0090] Subsequently, in a processing step 140 , the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device S outputs the derived information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank 12 via a display, so that the user can recognize the derived information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank.

[0091] List of Figure Numbers

[0092] 1 System

[0093] 5 Pillars

[0094] 6 Sensors

[0095] 6' sensor

[0096] 7 Stop

[0097] 8 Light Barrier

[0098] 9 Splices

[0099] 12 Packaging blanks

[0100] 13 Tray

[0101] 14 PAD

[0102] 20 Packaging Library

[0103] 22 Packaging Library

[0104] 24 Packaging Library

[0105] 30 thickness

[0106] 50 handling device

[0107] 100 methods

[0108] 110 processing steps, first processing step

[0109] 120 processing steps, second processing step

[0110] 130 Processing step, third processing step

[0111] 140 Processing step, fourth processing step

[0112] BR View Direction

[0113] S Open-loop and / or closed-loop control device

[0114] TR Transport Direction

Claims

1. A method (100) for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks (12) for packaging articles, wherein - a plurality of packaging blanks (12) are stored as a vertical or horizontal stack by means of a packaging magazine (20), wherein: By means of a handling device (50), a corresponding packaging blank (12) located at the front or the top of the stack is removed from the vertical or horizontal stack from a predetermined extraction position of the packaging warehouse (20) and unloaded onto a horizontal conveying device. Subsequently, the packaging warehouse (20) feeds another packaging blank (12) located at the front or the top to the extraction position at a predetermined transport speed. The method (100) is characterized in that: - Data about the remaining height or length of the vertical or horizontal stack are measured by at least one sensor device (6) and transmitted to an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S), which, taking into account the data and additionally taking into account the clock frequency of the operation of removing the packaging blank (12) performed by the handling device (50), derives information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) and outputs the derived information to the user in a visual manner and / or takes the derived information into account in another open-loop and / or closed-loop control process of the transport speed of the packaging warehouse (20) and / or the clock frequency of the handling device (50).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The detection range of the at least one sensor device (6) for determining the remaining height or length of the vertical or horizontal stack is directed from behind or from below towards the rearmost packaging blank (12) of the vertical or horizontal stack.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein: The at least one sensing mechanism (6) comprises at least three sensors (6'), which are positioned at a certain distance from each other along the height or length of the vertical or horizontal stack, and wherein the corresponding detection ranges of the at least three sensors (6') are respectively directed to one side of the vertical or horizontal stack.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The at least three sensors (6') are each designed as a light barrier (8).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) uses information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) to check whether the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is within a predetermined tolerance range, and, in the method, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) determines during the inspection process that the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is outside the tolerance range, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is capable of outputting a fault message to the user.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) uses information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) to check whether the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is within a predetermined tolerance range, and, in the method, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) determines during the inspection process that the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is outside the tolerance range, the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is capable of outputting a fault message to the user.

7. A system (1) for singulating a plurality of packaging blanks (12) for packaging articles, said system (1) comprising - a packaging magazine (20) configured to accommodate vertical or horizontal stacks of packaging blanks, - a handling device (50) capable of removing the respective packaging blank (12) located at the front or top of the stack from the vertical or horizontal stack from a predetermined extraction position of the packaging magazine (20), wherein: The packaging library (20) is constructed in a certain manner so that another packaging blank (12) of the stack that is immediately located at the front or the top can be fed into the extraction position at a predetermined transport speed through the packaging library (20). - The system (1) is characterized in that an open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) connected to the handling device (50) and to at least one sensor device (6), wherein i) the at least one sensor device (6) is used to determine data about the remaining height or length of the vertical or horizontal stack and transmit the data to the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S), and wherein ii) the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is constructed in such a way that, taking into account the data and additionally taking into account the clock frequency of the operation of removing the packaging blank (12) performed by the handling device (50), the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) can derive information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12), and iii) the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is constructed to output information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) to the user in a visual manner, and / or the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is constructed to perform open-loop and / or closed-loop control of the transport speed of the packaging warehouse (20) and / or open-loop and / or closed-loop control of the clock frequency of the handling device (50) taking into account the derived information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12).

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein: The detection range of the at least one sensor device (6) is oriented in a certain manner so that the at least one sensor device (6) looks from the rear or from below towards the packaging blank (12) located at the rear of the vertical or horizontal stack accommodated in the packaging magazine (20).

9. A system according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein: The at least one sensing mechanism (6) comprises at least three sensors (6'), which are positioned at a certain distance from each other along the height or length of a stack of packaging blanks (12) vertically or horizontally accommodated in a packaging magazine (20).

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein: The at least three sensors (6') are each designed as a light barrier (8).

11. The system according to any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein: The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is constructed in a certain manner so that the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) uses information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) to check whether the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is within a predetermined tolerance range, and wherein, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) determines during the inspection process that the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is outside the tolerance range, a fault message can be output to the user through the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S).

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein: The open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) is constructed in a certain manner so that the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) uses information about the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) to check whether the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is within a predetermined tolerance range, and wherein, if the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S) determines during the inspection process that the thickness of the removed packaging blank (12) is outside the tolerance range, a fault message can be output to the user through the open-loop and / or closed-loop control device (S).

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