Packaging device for producing packaging units, removal device and method for removing and separating magazined packaging blanks, and use thereof in the production of packaging units

Abstract

A packaging device is disclosed which comprises a magazine (12) having a plurality of stacked, sheet-like packaging blanks (10), and a removal device for removing packaging blanks (10) separately from the magazine (12). The removal device is equipped with a horizontally and vertically movable handling unit (16) with tools arranged thereon, wherein the tools are formed at least by a clamping bracket (22) and by a gripper (30). The clamping bracket (22) serves for pressing on and fixing the stack (14) of packaging blanks (10), located in the magazine (12), in a first surface region (24). The gripper (30) serves for taking hold of an uppermost packaging blank (10, 10-1) in the stack (14), in a second surface region (32) adjoining the first surface region (24). The gripper (30) is pivotable in such a way that the second surface region (32) can be angled towards the fixed first surface region (24) in order to separate the gripped packaging blank (10, 10-1) from the stack (14), after release of the clamping bracket (22), and to remove it from the magazine (12) by raising the handling unit (16).

Description

[0001] Packaging device for producing packaging units, removal device and method for removing and separating magazined packaging blanks and for their use in the production of packaging units The present invention relates to a packaging device, a removal device that can be used in the packaging device and a method for producing packaging units. The invention also relates to a method for separating magazined packaging blanks, in particular for their use in the production of packaging units. In practice, numerous different types of packaging are used for the processing, compilation, grouping and packaging of articles or piece goods such as beverage containers. A frequently practiced variant provides for the grouping and mechanical combination of several similar articles orContainers are assembled into portable, relatively handy packaging units. Various methods are also available for combining individual items or containers into larger packages. For example, beverage containers are often combined and packaged using shrink film to form packages of four, six, or more beverage containers. The production of packages is usually unavoidable, as they represent the most common type of packaging for beverage containers or bottles made of PET plastic. The packages are sometimes combined again for transport and / or stacked in layers and palletized. Specific manufacturing steps are required for the production of known package variants in order to process the shrink film typically used for the packages.These production steps require a relatively high level of energy input, not least because of the heat-induced shrinkage of the film. In addition, the film used incurs costs for production, provision, handling and subsequent disposal, as it is no longer required after sale to the end customer and after the items or containers have been unpacked. The machinery required to provide the film wrapping modules and other handling stations required for film packaging also incurs high investment costs. Finally, the provision of the shrink tunnel, in which the film wrapped around the containers is shrunk using hot air, also requires a relatively high capital investment. One variant that fundamentally eliminates the need for shrink film is strapping. Here, the containers are wrapped using so-calledStrapping bands are connected to one another and combined to form a bundle. In continuously or intermittently operating strapping machines, containers, articles or bottles are grouped into formations and then strapped with one or more bands using strapping units, normally using strapping bands stretched horizontally around the held together articles or containers. Typical formations can be, for example, 1x2 arrangements (two containers in a row), 2x2 arrangements (four containers in a square or diamond formation), 3x2, 4x3 or basically also variable nxm arrangements. In addition to simple cardboard packaging, which can be supplemented if necessary by so-called compartments for separating and specifying the container positions within the cardboard packaging, other packaging variants have proven to be practical. These include, for example, the so-calledGrip carton packaging or upper grip carton packaging, which serve to group several bottles together via their neck areas. A packaging machine for applying such upper grip carton packaging is described in patent specification EP 1075419 B1. Here, the articles or containers are arranged in a box, and the grip carton packaging is placed from above onto the at least one article arranged in the box. In particular, a plurality of articles are arranged in the box, and by placing a smaller number of upper grip carton packaging, subgroups are formed, each of which groups a portion of the articles arranged in the box. A grip carton packaging has an arrangement and number of through-openings that correspond to the arrangement and number of articles or containers to be grouped together.The diameter of the openings is generally slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the articles in an upper area. The grip carton packaging is placed onto the articles and pressed down so that a defined upper area of ​​the articles is pushed through the openings. In particular, an upper area with a maximum diameter is pushed through the openings, and the edge areas of the openings engage with the articles below this maximum diameter so that the grip carton packaging is securely and firmly attached to the articles. Relatively high application forces are required to attach the grip carton packaging to the articles in this way, particularly to push the articles through the openings.Accordingly, the articles must offer suitable resistance to this application force so that they are not damaged when the grip carton packaging is applied. It should also be pointed out that such grip carton packaging is also suitable for grouping and packaging beverage cans if the dimensions of the openings as well as their positioning and spacing from one another are adapted to the respective can sizes. For automated application of the grip carton packaging to the previously grouped articles or beverage containers, designated and appropriately equipped application devices such as specially adapted gripper robots are usually used, with the grip carton packaging being removed one after the other from magazines in which a large number of flat grip carton packaging are stacked and prepared for removal by the application device.A handling device for removing flat blanks stacked in magazines, which are folded and inserted into cardboard packaging as compartments for dividing and separating beverage containers to be inserted therein, is disclosed in DE 102017103829 A1. To remove and separate the blanks stacked in the magazine, a handling element is used which has suitable suction devices to grasp each individual blank and remove them one after the other from the magazine for subsequent use in the packaging process. A device and method for removing stacked cardboard blanks from a magazine are also known from DE 102018132330 A1. The removal device, which is movable in the horizontal and vertical directions, comprises suction tools for grasping individual cardboard blanks from the magazine.To perform a compensating movement and to align the respectively captured cardboard blanks in a horizontal plane, the suction tool(s) is(are) arranged within or on the removal device so that it can pivot about an additional axis. Since the cardboard blanks in the magazine can be stacked at a greater or lesser incline, the additional axis is provided to compensate for such an incline. The use of suction tools is therefore a common measure when using removal devices that are used to remove and separate flat cardboard blanks stacked in magazines. However, various effects can hinder the vacuum-controlled separation of magazined cardboard blanks and, depending on the severity of the effects, lead to undesired malfunctions.Since cardboard blanks that lie close together over a large area can lead to the adjacent blanks being pulled along when a blank on top is lifted off due to the adhesive forces that arise between the adjacent blanks, suitable measures must be taken to suppress or prevent such pulling effects. In the case of air-permeable cardboard blanks or those with previously made openings, cutouts, perforations, etc., lifting using vacuum suction devices can fail or lead to malfunctions because, due to the air permeability, several adjacent cardboard blanks are sucked up and pulled off the magazine stack at the same time, instead of the topmost cardboard blank. To prevent this, it may be possible tothe negative pressure for sucking up the cardboard blank lying on top can be reduced, but with larger cardboard blanks this can under certain circumstances lead to a reduction in the load-bearing capacity of the handling element, so that this load-bearing capacity may no longer be sufficient to lift the cardboard blank and / or to handle it safely. In view of the disadvantages identified in the prior art, it can be considered the primary aim of the invention to reduce or eliminate these various disadvantages by creating an improved and more reliable option for receiving magazined packaging blanks, which allows blanks of all types to be received and separated, even those with air-permeable areas. This aim is achieved with a packaging device and with a method for producing packaging units which have the features of the independent claims.Features of advantageous embodiments can be found in the respective dependent claims. To achieve the stated objective, the present invention proposes a packaging device having the features of the corresponding independent claim. This packaging device according to the invention serves, in particular, to combine a plurality of articles by means of an outer packaging formed from a packaging blank, as already explained in its basic features above, for example, to combine a defined number of beverage cans by means of a cardboard packaging blank, in whose recesses the beverage cans are locked and thus combined to form a packaging unit.The packaging device according to the invention comprises at least one magazine with a plurality of flat packaging blanks stacked therein, wherein the packaging blanks are stacked horizontally one above the other in the magazine or, in the case of inclined or upright stacking, are arranged with their flat sides joined together. The packaging device is equipped with a removal device for the individual removal of packaging blanks from the magazine. This removal device, in turn, has a horizontally and vertically movable handling device with tools arranged thereon for handling the packaging blanks and for their individual removal from the magazine. The handling tools of the handling device, which is part of the removal device, are formed at least by a clamping bracket and a gripping device.The clamping bracket is used to press and fix the stack of packaging blanks located in the magazine in a first surface area and is designed accordingly for this purpose. The gripping device is used to grasp a packaging blank lying on top of the stack or on the edge of the stack in a second surface area adjacent to the first surface area and is designed accordingly for this purpose. The surface areas of the packaging blanks mean demarcated areas of the packaging blank that are not visually or otherwise demarcated from one another or separately marked, but which represent different areas on which the clamping bracket or the gripping device acts. Each of these two surface areas can take up approximately half of a flat side of the respective packaging blanks, so that the clamping bracket in the first surface area, iein a first half of the flat side of the uppermost packaging blank and can be pressed there, whilst the gripping device can grasp the packaging blank in the second surface area, i.e. in the area of ​​the flat side not pressed against by the clamping bracket, and lift it there. In addition, when lifting or after lifting the uppermost gripped packaging blank, the gripping device can be pivoted in the second surface area from the stack in such a way that the second surface area can be angled against the first surface area fixed by the clamping bracket in order to separate the gripped packaging blank from the stack after the clamping bracket has been released or lifted and to remove it from the magazine by lifting the handling device.Since the packaging blanks to be handled with the packaging device described here may have perforations or be permeable to air, they cannot be reliably lifted or separated using vacuum suction cups. Likewise, the packaging blanks may have a textured surface, which can make lifting and separating using conventional vacuum suction cups problematic. In the magazine, the packaging blanks are stacked flat against one another and may adhere to one another if a packaging blank located at the edge or on top is to be removed. By securing a section of the packaging blanks and simultaneously lifting the unsecured area of ​​the topmost packaging blank and subsequently deforming this lifted section, residual stress can be generated and utilized in the packaging blanks below.Although the packaging blanks underneath are also lifted in the unsecured areas and also sucked in, the inherent tension generated by the deformation allows the lower layers to reliably peel off despite the suction pressure, which ultimately leads to the reliable separation of the suctioned packaging blanks after the clamp is removed. In the described method, even very thin and air-permeable packaging blanks made of cardboard or paper material can be reliably separated and removed from a magazine with vertical stacking.The same applies to structured packaging blanks, where suction with conventional suction grippers presents certain difficulties, but this can be compensated for by increased negative pressure, which may, however, necessitate the countermeasures described to prevent more than a single packaging blank from being sucked in and picked up by the handling device. In a variant of the packaging device according to the invention, the clamping bracket arranged on the handling device can be placed and / or pressed against the magazine and onto the first surface area of ​​the packaging blank lying at the edge or on top of the stack by means of an advancing movement of the handling device, in order to thus press the entire stack into the magazine and fix it there.Optionally, the handling device of the packaging device can be equipped with a gantry suspension or another suitable movable suspension, and can thus be raised and lowered and / or positioned against and lifted from the stack. Such a gantry suspension allows the handling device to move around three axes that are perpendicular to each other or, if necessary, angularly oriented to each other, thus enabling all the necessary removal, conveying, and transfer movements required for the separation, removal, and transfer of the packaging blanks to downstream processing stations.The gripping device arranged on the handling device is preferably prepared and equipped for detecting and gripping the packaging blank lying at the edge or on top of the stack. The gripping device can in particular be pivotally mounted on the handling device in order to be able to carry out the desired deformation movements of the packaging blanks in the manner described. The gripping device can in particular comprise at least one suction pad or at least one other gripper operating with suction pressure. It can be useful if the suction pad(s) can be subjected to variably adjustable negative pressure in order to be able to adapt to the gripping forces required in each case for reliably detecting the packaging blank lying on top.As already explained above, in preferred variants of the packaging device designed according to the invention, it is expedient to design the gripping device with the at least one suction stamp so that it is angularly adjustable or otherwise movably mounted relative to the clamping device or the clamping bracket, in order to be able to carry out the required deformation movements of the packaging blanks, which can ensure reliable detachment of the further packaging blanks in the magazine below the uppermost packaging blank, which is currently being suctioned and picked up. To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention further proposes a method for removing individual flat packaging blanks from a magazine with several stacked packaging blanks, having the features of the independent method claim.In this method according to the invention, a packaging blank located at the edge of a stack or at the top of the stack is first fixed in a first surface area and pressed into the magazine in a multi-phase process and then gripped in a second surface area adjacent to the first surface area, after which the gripped packaging blank is lifted from the stack in the second surface area and angled and / or raised against the fixed first surface area. The process of separating a top or edge packaging blank during its removal from the magazine is essentially characterized by the packaging blank being deformed in partial areas relative to its previous position or orientation and thereby being angled relative to the other packaging blanks.However, this in no way precludes the superimposition of additional motion components, which, on the one hand, may consist of an approximately vertical lifting from the other packaging blanks in the magazine. These motion components of deformation and lifting are logically superimposed in such a way that the slight lifting is only made possible by the deformation. Alternatively or additionally, another motion component may be added or specifically support the separation process. This can be achieved by an approximately parallel displacement of the packaging blank to be separated relative to the magazine stack, provided this is permitted by the design of the magazine.However, since the essential movement component, which also dominates the process sequence for separating the topmost or edge-side packaging blank, involves the deformation and one-sided lifting of this packaging blank, sufficient space is created on this limiting side of the magazine for such a lateral displacement, thereby providing the necessary space for this alternative or additional movement component. However, with these two superimposed movement components, which can be added to the deformation of the packaging blank located at the top or edge of the magazine stack, care must be taken to ensure that the fixation of the first surface area of ​​the packaging blank gripped in the second surface area is adjusted accordingly or slightly loosened in order to also provide the additional movement components with the necessary clearance.The fixation of the first surface area of ​​the packaging blank gripped in the second surface area can then be released, so that the gripped packaging blank can be detached from the stack, separated from the subsequent packaging blanks, and removed from the magazine as a single packaging blank. Since the packaging blanks processed using the method described here each have perforations or can be at least partially permeable to air or have a structured surface, and since the packaging blanks are stacked flat against one another in the magazine, they can easily stick to one another due to adhesive forces if a packaging blank located at the edge or on top is to be removed. In addition, the air permeability or the perforations can ensure that several packaging blanks are sucked in at the same time, which can pose certain difficulties for separation.To remedy these problems, in the method explained here, the gripped packaging blank is lifted from the stack in the second surface area and angled against the fixed first surface area, whereby the underlying packaging blanks are peeled off due to their inherent tension, which can ensure reliable separation of the uppermost packaging blank grasped by the gripping device. The method can in particular provide that the fixing of the packaging blank lying at the edge or at the top of the stack takes place by placing and / or pressing a clamp onto the first surface area. In this case, it is preferably further provided that the fixing of the packaging blanks and the gripping of the packaging blank lying at the edge or at the top of the stack is carried out using a suitable and appropriately equipped handling device.This handling device can be raised and lowered and / or advanced against the stack and lifted from it to carry out the process steps required for the method. To enable this, the handling device can, for example, have a gantry suspension with three-axis mobility or another movable suspension. The method can further provide for the packaging blank lying at the edge or on top of the stack to be grasped and gripped by means of a gripping device, wherein this gripping device is arranged on the handling device and / or is pivotally mounted thereon. The aforementioned gripping device can, in particular, comprise at least one suction plunger or at least one other gripper operating with suction pressure, wherein it can be provided that the suction plunger(s) can be subjected to a variably adjustable negative pressure.Furthermore, it is expedient for the implementation of the method if the gripping device with the at least one suction stamp is mounted in an angle-adjustable manner or is otherwise movably mounted relative to the clamping device or the clamping bracket, so that the packaging blanks can be deformed and bent open in the desired manner. The method provides that the packaging blank lying at the edge or on top of the stack is deformed by pivoting the gripping device while the clamping device or clamping bracket is simultaneously locked, and is lifted off at least on one side from the stack with the other packaging blanks. This normally ensures the desired detachment of the packaging blanks underneath, so that these are not removed from the magazine together with the topmost packaging blank when this packaging blank is to be separated.The method can thus provide that by deforming and unilaterally lifting the packaging blank lying at the edge or on top of the stack, the adjacent packaging blank is detached or peeled off from the grasped packaging blank, whereby existing adhesion forces between the packaging blanks are eliminated and the grasped packaging blank can be separated. If the person skilled in the art considers them to be reasonably combinable, some or all of the aforementioned variations or embodiments of the method according to the invention and / or the packaging device according to the invention can optionally also be combined with one another in order to at least partially achieve the above-stated objective(s) and / or to achieve the desired effect of the invention.It should also be emphasized at this point that all aspects and embodiments explained in connection with the packaging device according to the invention equally relate to or can form partial aspects of the method according to the invention. Therefore, if certain aspects and / or relationships and / or effects are mentioned at any point in the description or in the claim definitions for the packaging device according to the invention, this equally applies to the method according to the invention. The same applies conversely, so that all aspects and embodiments explained in connection with the method according to the invention equally relate to or can be partial aspects of the packaging device according to the invention.Therefore, if at one point in the description or in the claim definitions for the method according to the invention certain aspects and / or relationships and / or effects are mentioned, this applies equally to the packaging device according to the invention. To achieve the above-mentioned aim, the invention finally proposes a removal device for the individual removal of packaging blanks from the magazine, which are stacked one on top of the other in a magazine or arranged with their flat sides joined to one another, wherein this removal device is equipped with a horizontally and vertically movable handling device with tools arranged thereon. The tools are formed at least by a clamping bracket and by a gripping device, wherein the clamping bracket is provided for pressing and fixing the stack of packaging blanks located in the magazine in a first surface area and is designed accordingly.In addition, the gripping device is provided for gripping a packaging blank lying on top in the stack in a second surface area adjacent to the first surface area and is designed accordingly. In the removal device, it is provided that the gripping device can be pivoted during or after lifting the gripped packaging blank lying on top in the second surface area from the stack in such a way that the second surface area can be angled against the fixed first surface area in order to separate the gripped packaging blank from the stack after releasing the clamp and to remove it from the magazine by lifting the handling device. The removal device can in particular be part of the packaging device explained above in various embodiments. In addition, the removal device can be used to carry out the method described in various variants.The following explanations summarize some aspects of the invention already explained in various embodiments, specifying some aspects in more detail, but should not be seen as contradicting the explanations already made, but rather as a summary, and in case of doubt, possibly as more specific embodiments and / or modifications. Thus, as already mentioned several times above, the removal and separation method according to the invention can be used to remove individual flat packaging blanks from a magazine without the packaging blanks sticking together. If a magazine contains a large number of packaging blanks stacked on top of one another, the problem often arises of reliably separating the individually removed packaging blanks and preventing multiple packaging blanks from being removed at the same time.Since in such a stack the packaging blanks lie on top of each other with their flat sides, they often stick together quite strongly when they are taken from the magazine from above and lifted off the magazine stack. The packaging blanks are removed using a handling device located above the magazine, which is used to capture the packaging blanks to be taken from the magazine and transfer them to a destination not specified here. What is generally referred to here as the destination for the packaging blanks individually taken from the magazine can in particular be part of a processing and / or packaging module in which the packaging blanks are placed on a specially provided article grouping or container grouping, so that this article or container grouping is thus converted into bundles. For example,In this way, a handling device coupled to a gantry suspension or other suitable suspension can, for example, be movable about at least two axes, namely about a vertical axis, whereby the handling device can be raised and lowered and thus can be pushed against the magazine stack from above or lifted off from it. In addition, the gantry suspension of the handling device requires at least one further axis of movement, which can, for example, be oriented in a horizontal direction, in order to be able to move the handling device between the magazine and another destination for applying the packaging blanks individually removed from the magazine. Optionally, a third axis of movement can be added, which can preferably also be horizontal and expediently perpendicular or diagonal to the first horizontal axis of movement, thus providing a gantry suspension for the handling device that can be moved about three axes.If no such gantry suspension is provided for the handling device, it can also be equipped with a multi-axis robot, a parallel kinematics robot, or similar, which would ensure the desired mobility. For the purpose of removing individual packaging blanks, the handling device of the removal device, which is movably mounted on the gantry suspension, is initially located at a defined distance above the magazine stack and the magazine, for example due to a previous return movement from a destination or application location where a packaging blank previously lifted from the stack was transferred to an application unit or applied to a grouping of articles or containers. In a subsequent process step, the handling device can be lowered vertically, thereby reducing the vertical distance between the handling devices.In addition, a clamping bracket that can be lowered with the handling device or mounted there can be lowered onto a first surface area of ​​the packaging blank lying on top of the stack and pressed there. In this way, the clamping bracket can ensure that all the packaging blanks in the stack are secured in the first surface area and pressed into the magazine or onto the adjacent packaging blanks in the stack. For this purpose, the clamping bracket can be attached to a frame or support element of the handling device, for example, by means of a rigid or telescopic connecting rod. If telescopic, it can be designed to be lowered or raised separately from the frame or support element.Simultaneously with the clamping bracket being lowered onto the first surface area of ​​the stack of packaging blanks and preferably pressed there, a gripping device can be lowered onto a second surface area of ​​the uppermost packaging blank, adjacent to the first surface area, in order to firmly grasp the blank and pick it up using the gripping device. The gripping device can optionally comprise two, three or more suction pads arranged next to one another, which can typically be arranged next to one another in a row. The suction pads can in particular be vacuum-controlled grippers which can be supplied via supply lines with the vacuum required to pick up the packaging blank in the second surface area. Optionally, it can be expedient to apply a variably adjustable vacuum to the suction pads via the supply lines.After the handling device is lowered vertically downwards, the clamping bracket contacts the first surface area of ​​the uppermost packaging blank and presses this packaging blank from above onto the packaging blanks below it in the magazine stack, while the at least two suction pads, which form the gripping device, contact the uppermost packaging blank in the second surface area in order to subsequently pick it up. In a subsequent process phase, the suction pads are each subjected to a negative pressure via the supply lines, after which the packaging blank thus sucked up can be lifted from the stack in the second surface area.Since the gripping device is simultaneously slightly angled, the uppermost packaging blank, grasped by the suction pads, is also angled in its second surface area against the first surface area secured by the clamping bracket. Since the stacked packaging blanks may have perforations or be permeable to air, depending on their intended use and specific design, conventional handling devices with suction pads, which are lowered vertically from above onto the magazine stack containing the packaging blanks, are often unable to reliably separate the uppermost packaging blank from the packaging blanks below and pick it up as an individual packaging blank for further processing.Such packaging blanks that are permeable to air, have perforations, or are otherwise equipped with structured surfaces require the process phases to be modified as described. This is achieved by supporting the packaging blanks with the clamping bracket, suctioning the topmost packaging blank with the suction pads, and rotating the suction pads around the pivot axis in a defined pivot direction. In this way, the packaging blanks, which are stacked flat against each other in the magazine and adhere to each other by adhesion, can be reliably separated.Due to the rotation of the suction pads, the simultaneous slight lifting of the suction pads and the continued support of the clamping bracket, the subsequent packaging blank detaches from the suctioned upper packaging blank and remains on the magazine stack, while the topmost packaging blank can be lifted off as desired. Normally, the subsequent packaging blank is first pulled along the second surface area and lifted off from the other packaging blank below.However, the subsequent packaging blank, initially pulled along with the topmost packaging blank due to the adhesive force, detaches from the suction-held packaging blank upon further pivoting of the suction pads around the pivot axis in a defined pivoting direction and finally falls back onto the magazine stack when the packaging blank above it is lifted from the stack by lifting the handling device and removed from the magazine. The gripping device, which is angle-adjustable relative to the clamping bracket, ensures targeted deformation of at least the suction-held topmost packaging blank by pivoting when the clamping bracket is locked. This can also be lifted from the magazine stack on one side by the negative pressure applied to the suction pads.At the same time, the adjacent packaging blank underneath is detached from the grasped packaging blank, so that the adhesive forces existing between these flat packaging blanks are overcome and the grasped packaging blank can be separated. In this process phase, the clamping of the first surface area of ​​the packaging blank grasped by the suction pads in the second surface area, as well as all packaging blanks below it in the magazine stack, is released, so that the grasped packaging blank can be separated from the stack as an individual packaging blank and thus removed from the magazine. Optionally, the telescopic connecting rod can be shortened as required so that it can be lifted off the suctioned packaging blank as soon as the handling device moves away from the magazine in a horizontal movement.The negative pressure applied to the suction stamps must be maintained here, since the packaging blank is to be transported to a destination located away from the magazine. In the following, exemplary embodiments will explain the invention and its advantages in more detail with reference to the attached figures. The proportions of the individual elements to one another in the figures do not always correspond to the actual proportions, since some shapes are simplified and other shapes are shown enlarged in relation to other elements for better illustration. Figures 1A to 1D show schematic side views of successive process steps in the removal and separation of packaging blanks from a magazine, wherein the process steps illustrate parts of an embodiment of a method according to the invention using an embodiment of a removal device according to the invention.Figures 2A and 2B show further process steps in schematic side views, which can follow the process steps according to Figures 1A to 1D. Figures 3A and 3B show, in schematic and perspective views, a variant of a removal device for the individual removal of packaging blanks from a magazine. Identical reference numerals are used for identical or equivalently acting elements of the invention. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, only those reference numerals are shown in the individual figures that are necessary for the description of the respective figure. The illustrated embodiments merely represent examples of how the device or method according to the invention can be designed and do not represent an exhaustive limitation.The schematic side views of Figures 1A to 1D and Figures 2A and 2B show, in a synopsis, successive process steps in the implementation of a variant of the removal and separation method according to the invention, in which individual flat packaging blanks 10 are removed from a magazine 12 in which several such packaging blanks 10 are stacked one on top of the other. As Figures 1A to 1D and Figures 2A and 2B each show, a plurality of packaging blanks 10 stacked one on top of the other are located in the magazine 12, so that the plurality of stacked packaging blanks 10 located there can be referred to as a magazine stack 14 or simply as a stack 14.In the stack 14, the packaging blanks 10 lie with their flat sides against one another, wherein the flat sides each have a horizontal orientation, so that the packaging blanks 10 can be removed one after the other from the top of the magazine 12 and lifted off the magazine stack 14. The precise shape of the container of the trough-shaped magazine 12, which is open at the top here, will not be specified in more detail here, since in the present context the focus is on the property of the magazine 12 that is essential for the method, namely its accessibility from above in order to be able to remove a topmost packaging blank 10-1 and to separate it from subsequent packaging blanks 10-2 and / or 10-3, which become accessible for removal after the topmost packaging blank 10-1 has been removed.Since the attached Figures 1A to 3B each show a trough-shaped magazine 12 that is open at the top and in which the packaging blanks 10 are stacked one above the other in a horizontal orientation, it should be noted at this point, purely as a precaution, that this is by no means intended to imply that the invention and the inventive removal and separation method are limited to such an arrangement. It will be immediately apparent to a person skilled in the art from the context of the present explanations that differently designed magazines 12 with different removal directions also implement the same inventive ideas and thus fall under the definitions of the present invention. These can be, for example, magazine designs with vertically standing or inclinedly stored packaging blanks 10, which can thus be removed in a horizontal or inclined direction from a magazine 12 designed in this way.The subsequent packaging blank 10-2 located below the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 in the magazine stack 14 is designated in more detail in Figures 1C and 1D by this reference number 10-2. The further packaging blank 10-3 located thereunder is also illustrated in Figures 1C and 1D and is designated there by the corresponding reference number 10-3. The sequence of the uppermost packaging blank 10-1, the subsequent packaging blank 10-2 located thereunder, and the further packaging blank 10-3 located below it also corresponds to the removal sequence in the magazine stack 14 from top to bottom.As Figures 1A to 2B further show, above the magazine 12 with the stack 14 of the packaging blanks 10 stacked on top of each other therein there is a handling device 16 which is used to capture the packaging blanks 10 to be removed from the magazine 12 and to transfer them to a destination not shown in detail here. What is generally referred to here as the destination for the packaging blanks 10 removed individually from the magazine 12 can in particular be part of a processing and / or packaging module (not shown) in which the packaging blanks 10 are placed on an article grouping or container grouping provided for this purpose, so that this article or container grouping is thus each converted into a bundle. The handling device 16, which is coupled, for example, to a portal suspension 18 or another suitable suspension, can in this way, for example,be movable about at least two axes, namely about a vertical axis, whereby the handling device 16 can be raised and lowered and thus can be advanced from above against the magazine stack 14 or lifted off from it. In addition, the gantry suspension 18 of the handling device 16 requires at least one further axis of movement, which can, for example, be oriented in the horizontal direction, in order to be able to move the handling device 16 between the magazine 12 and a further destination for applying the packaging blanks 10 individually removed from the magazine 12. Optionally, a third axis of movement can be added, which can preferably also be in the horizontal direction and expediently perpendicular or diagonal to the first horizontal axis of movement, thereby providing a gantry suspension 18 for the handling device 16 that is movable about three axes.If no such gantry suspension 18 is provided for the handling device 16, it can also be equipped with a multi-axis robot, a parallel kinematic robot, or the like, which would ensure the desired mobility in each case. By examining Figures 1A to 1D as well as 2A and 2B, the process can be understood, which takes place in several successive phases, with which individual packaging blanks 10 are lifted one after the other from the magazine stack 14 and removed from the magazine 12. Since the handling device 16, together with its handling elements 22, 30, etc., described in more detail below, serves to remove individual packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 12, the entire arrangement will also be referred to below as the removal device 8.Initially, the handling device 16 of the removal device 8, which is movably mounted on the portal suspension 18, is located at a certain distance A above the magazine stack 14 and the magazine 12 (cf. Fig. 1A), for example due to a previous return movement from a destination or application location, where a packaging blank (not shown here) previously lifted from the stack 14 was transferred to an application unit or applied to an article or container grouping. The schematic side view of Fig. 1B shows how, in the next process step, the handling device 16 is lowered in the vertical direction, which is illustrated by the directional arrow 20, which indicates the lowering movement of the handling device. The movement shown in Fig.1A, the still existing vertical distance A between the handling device 16 is thereby no longer present, since a clamping bracket 22, which can be lowered with the handling device 16 or is mounted there, is lowered onto a first surface area 24 of the packaging blank 10-1 lying on top of the stack 14 and pressed there. The clamping bracket 22 thus ensures that the packaging blanks 10 of the stack 14 are all fixed in the first surface area 24 and pressed into the magazine 12 or onto the adjacent packaging blanks 10 of the stack 14. For this purpose, the clamping bracket 22 can be fastened to a frame or support element 28 of the handling device 16 by means of a rigid or telescopic connecting rod 26 and, if telescopic, can be designed so that it can be lowered or raised separately relative to the frame or support element 28.Simultaneously with the clamping bracket 22 being lowered onto the first surface region 24 and preferably pressed there, a gripping device 30 is lowered onto a second surface region 32 of the uppermost packaging blank 10-1, adjacent to the first surface region 24, in order to firmly grasp the latter and to be able to pick it up by means of the gripping device 30. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the gripping device 30 comprises two, three or more suction stamps 34 arranged next to one another, which are typically arranged next to one another in a row, wherein this row is preferably aligned perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, so that only one of the suction stamps 34 is visible at a time.The fact that the suction pads 34 are vacuum-controlled grippers is illustrated by an indicated supply line 36, via which the suction pads 34 can be supplied with the vacuum required to pick up the packaging blank 10 in the second surface area 32. Alternatively, it may be useful to apply a variably adjustable vacuum to the suction pads 34 via the supply lines 36. After lowering the handling device 16 in the vertical direction 20 downwards, the clamping bracket 22 contacts the first surface area 24 of the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 and presses this packaging blank 10-1 from above onto the underlying packaging blanks 10 of the magazine stack 14, while the at least two suction stamps 34, which form the gripping device 30, contact the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 in the second surface area 32, which is shown in the schematic side view of Fig.1B. The schematic side view of Fig. 1C illustrates a subsequent process phase in which the suction plungers 34 are subjected to a negative pressure via the supply line 36, after which the packaging blank 10-1 thus sucked up can be lifted from the stack 14 in the second surface area 32. Since the gripping device 30 is slightly angled at the same time, the uppermost packaging blank 10-1, which is gripped by the suction plunger 34, is also angled in its second surface area 32 against the first surface area 24 fixed by the clamping bracket 22. As Figures 1C and 1D illustrate, a pivoting 38 of the suction stamps 34 takes place about a pivot axis 40, wherein the pivoting direction 38 in the drawn illustration takes place with a left-hand rotation about the pivot axis 40, which leads to the shown one-sided lifting of the packaging blank 10-1 in its second surface area 32.Since the stacked packaging blanks 10 may have perforations or be air-permeable depending on their intended use and specific design, handling devices 16 with suction pads 34, which are lowered vertically from above onto the magazine stack 14 containing the packaging blanks 10, are often unable to reliably separate the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 from the packaging blanks below it and pick it up as an individual packaging blank 10-1 for further processing. Such packaging blanks 10 that are air-permeable, provided with perforations, or otherwise equipped with structured surfaces, rather require the process phases to be modified in the manner described and illustrated in Figures 1A to 2B.This is achieved by supporting the packaging blanks 10 by means of the clamping bracket 22, by suctioning the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 by means of the suction pads 34, and by rotating the suction pads 34 about the pivot axis 40 in the pivot direction 38 to the left, as illustrated in Figures 1C, 1D, and 2A. In this way, the packaging blanks 10, which are stacked flat against one another in the magazine 12 and adhere to one another by adhesion, can be reliably separated. As Figures 1C and 1D illustrate, due to the rotation of the suction stamps 34 with simultaneous slight lifting of the suction stamps 34 and maintained support by the clamping bracket 22, the subsequent packaging blank 10-2 detaches from the sucked-on upper packaging blank 10-1 and remains on the magazine stack 14, while the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 can be lifted off in the desired manner.Normally, the subsequent packaging blank 10-2 is initially pulled along in the second surface area 32 and lifted off the further packaging blank 10-3 located below it. However, the subsequent packaging blank 10-2, which is initially pulled along with the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 due to the adhesive force, detaches from the suctioned packaging blank 10-1 upon further pivoting of the suction ram 34 about the pivot axis 40 in the pivot direction 38 to the left (see Fig. 2A) and finally falls back onto the magazine stack when the packaging blank 10-1 located above is lifted off the stack 14 by lifting the handling device 16 and removed from the magazine 12 (see Fig. 2B).The gripping device 30, which is angle-adjustable relative to the clamping bracket 22, pivots when the clamping bracket 22 is locked, ensuring targeted deformation of at least the suctioned-on uppermost packaging blank 10-1, which can also be lifted off the magazine stack 14 on one side by the negative pressure applied to the suction stamps 34. At the same time, the adjacent packaging blank 10-2 located underneath is detached from the gripped packaging blank 10-1, so that the adhesion forces existing between these flat packaging blanks 10-1 and 10-2 are overcome, and the gripped packaging blank 10-1 can be separated. In this process phase, which is shown in Fig.2B, the clamping fixation of the first surface area 24 of the packaging blank 10-1 gripped in the second surface area by the suction stamps 34, as well as of all packaging blanks 10 located underneath it in the magazine stack 14, is released, so that the gripped packaging blank 10-1 can be separated from the stack 14 as an individual packaging blank 10 and thus removed from the magazine 12. Fig. 2B also shows an optional shortening of the telescopic connecting rod 26, which can thus be lifted off the suctioned packaging blank 10-1 when the handling device moves away from the magazine 12 in a horizontal movement 42. The negative pressure applied to the suction stamps 34 must be maintained here, since the packaging blank 10-1 is to be transported to a destination located away from the magazine 12.Under certain circumstances, the packaging blank 10-1 can deform in its first surface area 24 under its own weight, which is indicated by the left-hand area sagging below the raised clamping bracket 22. The horizontal orientation 44 of the packaging blank 10-1, which it had in the magazine stack 14, is indicated in Fig. 2B by a broken line. The perspective views in Figures 3A and 3B illustrate a specific design option for the handling device 16 and its interaction with a magazine stack 14 of several packaging blanks 10 stacked on top of one another within a magazine 12. As the perspective view in Fig. 3A and the perspective detailed view in Fig.3B, a plurality of packaging blanks 10 are stacked one above the other in the magazine 12, so that the plurality of stacked packaging blanks 10 located there can be referred to as a magazine stack 14 or simply as a stack 14. In the stack 14, the packaging blanks 10 each lie with their flat sides against one another, wherein the flat sides each have a horizontal orientation, so that the packaging blanks 10 can be removed one after the other from above from the magazine 12 and lifted off the magazine stack 14. As can be seen from Figures 3A and 3B, the packaging blanks 10 each have a large number of circular openings 46, which can lead to the difficulties explained above when sucking in the packaging blanks 10.Above the magazine 12 with the stack 14 of the packaging blanks 10 stacked on top of each other therein is the handling device 16, which is used to capture the packaging blanks 10 to be removed from the magazine 12 and to transfer them to a destination not shown in detail here. This destination for the packaging blanks 10 removed individually from the magazine 12 can in particular be part of a processing and / or packaging module (not shown), in which the packaging blanks 10 are placed on an article grouping or container grouping provided for this purpose, so that this article or container grouping is thus converted into a bundle. The handling device 16, which can be coupled, for example, to a gantry suspension or another suitable suspension, can in this way, for example,be movable about at least two axes, namely about a vertical axis, whereby the handling device 16 can be raised and lowered and thus can be advanced from above against the magazine stack 14 or lifted off from it. In addition, the handling device 16 is movable along a further movement axis, which can, for example, be oriented in a horizontal direction, in order to be able to move the handling device 16 between the magazine 12 and a further destination for applying the packaging blanks 10 individually removed from the magazine 12. In the illustrations in Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B, the handling device 16 has already been lowered in the vertical direction. In addition, the clamping bracket 22 is located on the stack 14 and presses against the first surface area 24 of the packaging blank 10 lying on top of the stack 14.In this way, the clamping bracket 22 ensures that the packaging blanks 10 of the stack 14 are all fixed in the first surface area 24 and pressed into the magazine 12 or against the adjacent packaging blanks 10 of the stack 14. For this purpose, the clamping bracket 22 can be fastened to a frame or support element 28 of the handling device 16 by means of a rigid or telescopic connecting rod 26 and, if telescopic, can be designed so that it can be lowered or raised separately relative to the frame or support element 28. The gripping device 30 with its multiple suction stamps 34 is already activated and has folded over the uppermost packaging blank 10-1. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the gripping device 30 comprises four suction stamps 34 arranged next to one another in a row.Not shown are supply lines that lead to line connections in the area of ​​the frame or support element 28, with which the suction pads 34 can be supplied with the negative pressure required to pick up the packaging blank 10 in the second surface area 32. The packaging blank 10-1, sucked up by the suction pads 34, is lifted from the stack 14 in the second surface area 32 and folded upward by approximately 90°. For this purpose, the gripping device 30 can be angled while the clamping bracket 22 remains in its position. The pivoting about the pivot axis 40 has already been illustrated and explained with reference to Figures 1C and 1D. Due to the pivoting of the suction stamps 34 shown, the subsequent packaging blank 10-2 detaches from the suctioned upper packaging blank 10-1 and remains on the magazine stack 14, while the uppermost packaging blank 10-1 can be lifted off in the desired manner.The gripping device 30, which is angle-adjustable relative to the clamping bracket 22, ensures, by pivoting when the clamping bracket 22 is locked, a targeted deformation of at least the suctioned uppermost packaging blank 10-1, which can also be lifted off the magazine stack 14 on one side by the negative pressure applied to the suction stamps 34. At the same time, the adjacent packaging blank 10-2 located underneath is detached from the gripped packaging blank 10-1, so that the adhesion forces existing between these flat packaging blanks 10-1 and 10-2 are overcome and the gripped packaging blank 10-1 can be separated. In a process phase not shown here, the clamping fixation of the first surface area 24 of the packaging blank 10-1 gripped in the second surface area by the suction stamps 34 as well as all packaging blanks 10 of the magazine stack 14 located thereunder is released (cf. Fig.2B), so that the gripped packaging blank 10-1 can be separated from the stack 14 as an isolated packaging blank 10 and thus removed from the magazine 12. The following is provided as a supplementary note to the above explanations. Although "schematic" representations and views are often or generally referred to in connection with the embodiments shown in Figures 1A to 3B and their above descriptions, this in no way means that the figure representations and their descriptions are of secondary importance with regard to the disclosure of the invention.A person skilled in the art will be perfectly capable of deriving sufficient information from the schematic and abstractly drawn representations to facilitate their understanding of the invention, without their understanding being impaired in any way by the drawn and possibly not exactly true-to-scale proportions of parts of the removal device 8, the handling device 16, or other details or other drawn elements of the devices described here. Rather, the figures enable the skilled reader, based on the more concretely explained implementations of the method according to the invention and the clearly illustrated structure of the device and device parts according to the invention, to derive a better understanding of the inventive concept formulated in a more general and / or abstract manner in the claims and in the general part of the description, at least with regard to some aspects.This also applies to the above-explained magazine variant of the open-top magazine 12, in which the packaging blanks 10 are stacked horizontally one above the other. As already explained, the skilled person will also recognize differently designed magazines 12 with different removal directions as belonging to the invention. The invention may also include alternative magazine designs with vertically positioned or inclined packaging blanks 10, which can thus be removed horizontally or diagonally from a magazine 12 designed in this way. The following is provided as a supplementary note to the above explanations.Although "schematic" representations and views are often or generally referred to in connection with the embodiments shown in Figures 1A to 3B and their above descriptions, this in no way means that the figure representations and their descriptions are of secondary importance with regard to the disclosure of the invention. A person skilled in the art is perfectly capable of deriving sufficient information from the schematic and abstractly drawn representations to facilitate their understanding of the invention, without their understanding being in any way impaired by the drawn and possibly not exactly true-to-scale proportions of parts of the removal device 8, the handling device 16, or other details or other drawn elements of the devices described here.Rather, the figures enable the skilled reader, based on the more concretely explained implementations of the inventive method and the illustrated structure of the inventive device and device components, to derive a better understanding of the inventive concept formulated more generally and / or abstractly in the claims and in the general part of the description, at least with regard to some aspects. The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it is conceivable for a skilled person that modifications or changes to the invention can be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

[0002] List of reference symbols 8 Removal device 10 Packaging blank 10-1 First packaging blank, uppermost packaging blank 10-2 Packaging blank, subsequent packaging blank 10-3 Packaging blank, further packaging blank 12 Magazine 14 Stack, magazine stack 16 Handling device 18 Portal suspension 20 Lowering movement 22 Clamping bracket 24 First surface area 26 Connecting rod 28 Frame element, support element 30 Gripping device 32 Second surface area 34 Suction stamp 36 Supply line 38 Pivoting direction 40 Pivoting axis 42 Horizontal movement 44 Horizontal alignment 46 Opening, recess A Vertical distance

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 24 November 2023 (24.11.2023) Packaging device, in particular for combining a plurality of articles by means of an outer packaging formed from a packaging blank, which packaging device comprises at least - a magazine (12) with several stacked flat packaging blanks (10), wherein the packaging blanks (10) are arranged in the magazine (12) lying one above the other or with their flat sides joined to one another, - a removal device (S) for the individual removal of packaging blanks (10) from the magazine (12), which removal device (8) is equipped with a horizontally and vertically movable handling device (16) with tools arranged thereon, wherein the tools are formed at least by a clamping bracket (22) and by a gripping device (30), - wherein the clamping bracket (22) is provided and designed accordingly for pressing and fixing the stack (14) located in the magazine (12) to packaging blanks (10) in a first surface area (24), - wherein the gripping device (30) is provided, equipped and designed accordingly to grip a packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying at the top of the stack (14) or at the edge of the stack (14) in a second surface area (32) adjacent to the first surface area (24), wherein the gripping device (30) is arranged and mounted in particular in a pivotable manner on the handling device (16), - wherein the gripping device (30) comprises at least one suction plunger (34) or at least one other gripper operating with suction pressure, wherein the suction plunger(s) (34) can be subjected to a variably adjustable negative pressure, - wherein the gripping device (30) with the at least one suction stamp (34) is mounted in an angularly adjustable or otherwise movable manner relative to the clamping bracket (22), - and wherein the gripping device (30) is pivotable during lifting or after lifting of the uppermost gripped packaging blank (10, 10-1) in the second surface area (32) from the stack (14) in such a way that the second surface area (32) can be angled against the fixed first surface area (24) in order to release the gripped AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19) The packaging blank (10, 10-1) is to be separated from the stack (14) and removed from the magazine (12) by lifting the handling device (16). Packaging device according to claim 1, in which the clamping bracket (22) arranged on the handling device (16) can be placed and / or pressed onto the first surface area (24) of the packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying at the edge or on top of the stack (14) by means of an advancing movement of the handling device (16) against the magazine (12). Packaging device according to claim 2, in which the handling device (16) has a portal suspension (18) or another movable suspension and can thus be raised and lowered and / or advanced against the stack (14) and lifted away from it., Method for removing individual flat packaging blanks (10, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3) from a magazine (12) with a plurality of stacked packaging blanks (10), in which a packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying on the edge of a stack (14) or on top of the stack (14) is removed in a multi-phase process. - is first fixed in a first surface area (24) and pressed into the magazine (12), wherein the packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying at the edge or on top of the stack (14) is fixed by placing and / or pressing a clamping bracket (22) onto the first surface area (24), and - is gripped by means of a gripping device (30) in a second surface region (32) adjacent to the first surface region (24), which gripping device (30) is arranged on a handling device (16) and / or is pivotally mounted there, which gripping device (30) comprises at least one suction stamp (34) or at least one other gripper operating with suction pressure, and wherein the gripping device (30) with the at least one suction stamp (34) is mounted so as to be angularly adjustable or otherwise movable relative to the clamping bracket (22), - after which the gripped packaging blank (10, 10-1) is in the second Surface area (32) is lifted from the stack (14) and angled against the fixed first surface area (24), - after which the fixing of the first surface area (24) of the packaging blank (10, 10-1) gripped in the second surface area (32) is released AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19) and the gripped packaging blank (10, 10-1) is separated from the stack (14) and removed from the magazine (12).

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the fixing of the packaging blanks (10) and the gripping of the packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying at the edge or on top of the stack (14) is carried out by a handling device (16), which handling device (16) can be raised and lowered and / or can be advanced against the stack (14) and lifted away from it, and wherein the handling device (16) in particular has a portal suspension (18) or another movable suspension.

6. Method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the suction stamp(s) (34) of the gripping device (30) can be subjected to a variably adjustable negative pressure.

7. Method according to one of claims 4 to 6, in which the packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying on the edge or on top of the stack (14) is deformed by pivoting the gripping device (30) with the clamping device or clamping bracket (22) locked and is lifted off at least on one side from the stack (14) with the other packaging blanks (10, 10-2, 10-3).

8. Method according to claim 7, in which by deforming and lifting off on one side the packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying at the edge or on top of the stack (14), the packaging blank (10, 10-2) adjacent to it is detached or peeled off from the grasped packaging blank (10, 10-2), whereby existing adhesion forces between the packaging blanks (10, 10-1, 10-2) are canceled and the grasped packaging blank (10, 10-1) can be separated.

9. Removal device (8) for the individual removal of packaging blanks (10) from the magazine (12) which are stacked one above the other in a magazine (12) or arranged with their flat sides joined to one another, which removal device (8) is particularly suitable for use within a packaging device according to one of claims 1 to 3, and which removal device (8) is equipped with a horizontally and vertically movable handling device (16) with tools arranged thereon, wherein the tools are formed at least by a clamping bracket (22) and by a gripping device (30), - wherein the clamping bracket (22) is used to press and fix the magazine (12) AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19) located stack (14) of packaging blanks (10) in a first surface area (24) and is designed accordingly, - wherein the gripping device (30) is provided and designed accordingly to grip a packaging blank (10, 10-1) lying at the top of the stack (14) in a second surface area (32) adjacent to the first surface area (24), - and wherein the gripping device (30) is pivotable during lifting or after lifting of the uppermost gripped packaging blank (10, 10-1) in the second surface region (32) from the stack (14) in such a way that the second surface region (32) can be angled against the fixed first surface region (24) in order to separate the gripped packaging blank (10, 10-1) from the stack (14) after releasing the clamping bracket (22) and to remove it from the magazine (12) by lifting the handling device (16). AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19)

Images