Carton opening device, carton conveying device, and carton opening method

Abstract

To provide a carton opening device capable of opening a folded pillow box carton without raising a lower flap.CONSTITUTION: The upper surface 3 of a pillow box carton 9 is sucked by a first sucker part 23 to move downward. flaps 5 and 6 are pressed to the chevron upper surface 351 of a standing-by folding guide member 35, and the flaps are integrally folded to be reformed upward. The folding guide member is lowered, and the flat bottom surface 352 thereof is brought into contact with the flaps to be returned to the horizontal posture. A lower surface 4 is sucked by a second sucker part 40 in this state, the lower surface is pulled downward to vertically swell the upper and lower surfaces, and a trunk 2 is pillow-shaped to be opened. The lower flaps folded upward are suppressed from bending upward by the bottom surface of the folding guide member, deformed into downward projected shapes following the bending deformation of the lower surface, and the lower flaps open, without rising to close the opening.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a carton opening device, a carton conveying device, and a carton opening method. [Background technology]

[0002] There are many different types of boxes for storing products, one of which is the pillow box (sometimes called a "pillow case"). As shown in Fig. 1(a), this pillow box 1 has a body 2 for storing products, with the side edges of an upper surface 3 and a lower surface 4 connected to each other, and both unconnected ends of the upper surface 3 and the lower surface 4 open, with fold lines 7 that define the boundaries of the connection parts with upper flaps 5 that connect to both ends of the upper surface 3 on the opening side, and fold lines 7 that define the boundaries of the connection parts with lower flaps 6 that connect to both ends of the lower surface 4 on the opening side, being curved, so that when the box is assembled, the surface of the box curves to match the curved lines, and the widthwise center side becomes pillow-like with bulging upwards and downwards.

[0003] Fig. 1(b) is a development view of the pillow box 1, and in the illustrated example, an adhesive strip 8 is provided on one side edge of the upper surface portion 3. Then, the side edge of the boundary between the upper surface portion 3 and the lower surface portion 4 is folded, and the adhesive strip 8 is attached to the lower surface portion 4, thereby forming a folded pillow box carton 9 shown in Fig. 1(c).

[0004] When packing products into this type of pillow box 1, the products are usually packed manually into the pillow box carton 9, and the opening is closed by folding down the lower flap 6 and the upper flap 5. This makes the work less efficient, and it is difficult to pack products quickly or continuously for long periods of time. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4562015 Publication Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When attempting to automatically pack pillow box cartons, for example by repurposing the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 for supplying products into bags, the following problems arise: First, the upper surface 3 and the lower surface 4 are attached with suction cups, respectively, and both ends are opened by separating them, but once opened into a cylindrical shape, the boundaries between the upper surface 3 and the upper flap 5, and between the lower surface 4 and the lower flap 6, are curved, making it impossible to fold the individual flaps, and if one tries to fold them forcibly, there is a risk that they will bend in areas other than the fold line 7, or that the surface will become dented.

[0007] In order to solve this problem, the inventors have considered pre-creasing the flaps when they are in a flat state before opening in order to fold them neatly. However, they have discovered that if the flaps are pre-creased in this way, when forming an opening for supplying products, either the upper or lower flap will fold due to the crease, blocking the opening, making it impossible to supply products.

[0008] Furthermore, when performing automatic boxing, it is necessary to transport the pillow box carton 9 while maintaining a certain shape and posture in order to supply the product and to close the opening by folding down the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 after supplying the product. However, since the body part 2 is curved, it is difficult to maintain it at a certain angle, such as horizontal, and even if the upper part 3 and the lower part 4 are once separated and opened, a restoring force acts to return the body part to its original folded state, which causes the distance between the side edges of the body part 2 to become longer and the body part 2 to become wider, which may make it impossible to automatically and appropriately supply the product.

[0009] The above-mentioned problems are described as being independent of each other, and the present invention does not necessarily have to solve all of the problems described, but it is sufficient if it can solve at least one of the problems. In addition, we intend to obtain rights to the configuration for solving this problem separately through divisional applications, amendments, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the carton opening device of the present invention is (1) a carton in which a first surface and a second surface constituting a body portion for storing a product in a folded state overlap with both side edges connected to each other, a first flap is provided on both ends of the unconnected first surface and a second flap is provided on both ends of the second surface, and a boundary between the first surface and the first flap and a boundary between the second surface and the second flap are curved, when the carton is taken out and supplied to a carton conveying device, the carton is opened to a state in which the product can be stored, the carton opening device comprising: a first suction means for suctioning the first surface; the first flap and the second flap toward the first surface portion of the carton waiting at the carton entrance side in a position parallel to the conveying surface of the carton conveying device; and a guide member that comes into contact with the first flap and returns the position of the pre-folded first flap to a position parallel to the conveying surface. By moving the second suction means with the guide member in contact with the first flap, the carton is opened by widening the gap between the first surface portion adsorbed by the first suction means and the second surface portion adsorbed by the second suction means.

[0011] Since the pre-folding means is performed in a flat folded state, it biases the first and second flaps toward the first surface portion, so that the first and second flaps can be easily and reliably folded at the curved boundary portion. Since the crease is formed on the first surface portion side in this manner, if the first suction means suctions the first surface portion and the second suction means suctions the second surface portion, and the first and second surfaces are opened by moving the two suction means apart relative to each other while the first suction means suctions the second surface portion, the second flap will rise toward the first surface portion in the pre-folded direction and try to close the opening, but by holding down the first flap with the guide member and positioning it parallel to the conveying surface, i.e., on an extension of the first surface portion, the second flap will also be positioned on an extension of the second surface portion. Therefore, when the first and second surfaces begin to open due to both suction means, the guide member prevents the second flap from bending toward the first surface, so that when the second surface tries to bend into a convex shape, the second flap, which is connected to the same surface, also begins to bend into a convex shape in the same direction. If it is bent into a slightly convex shape, it will not move from that shape to the opposite side and will open in the same way as the second surface. In this way, by starting the movement horizontally, the second flap is prevented from bending inward.

[0012] And because the opening is not blocked by the second flap and the first flap, the product can be automatically supplied from the opening. Also, because a crease is formed at the boundary portion by the pre-folding, after the product is supplied, the first flap can be biased toward the second flap, or the second flap can be biased toward the first flap, to fold from the boundary portion and close the opening. The carton configured as described above can be opened and automatic box packing can be performed.

[0013] In addition, the first surface portion, the second surface portion, the first flap, and the second flap correspond to the upper surface portion 3, the lower surface portion 4, the upper flap 5, and the lower flap 6, respectively, in this embodiment.

[0014] (2) The pre-folding means may be configured such that the upper surface in contact with the second flap has a curved portion that bulges in the width direction at the center and has a downwardly sloping tip, and the curved portion rises relative to the second flap and biases it obliquely upward. In this way, the second flap and the first flap are curved along the curved portion, and creases are easily formed along the boundary of the curved shape.

[0015] (3) It is preferable to provide a holding guide plate portion for holding the vicinity of the boundary of the first surface portion. In this way, the folding can be more reliably and neatly performed by folding the sheet along the boundary portion to form a crease.

[0016] (4) The guide member may be configured with a flat bottom surface of a member that contacts the second flap constituting the pre-folding means and urges it upward. In this way, the pre-folding means and the guide member can be integrated, simplifying the configuration and allowing the pre-folding process and the process of returning to a horizontal position to be performed with simple control and operation.

[0017] (5) The pre-folding means pre-folds the first and second flaps provided at both ends, and the guide member is provided only on the product supply side. In this way, the product supply side opens with neither the first nor second flaps closed, and when the second flap pre-folded upward on the opposite side stands up, the supplied product is prevented as much as possible from flying out from the opposite side.

[0018] (6) The carton conveying device conveys the carton in a position in which the side edges connecting the first surface portion and the second surface portion are positioned at the front and rear, and the opening of the carton faces sideways, and is provided with front fingers and rear fingers which grip the body portion of the carton from the front and rear, and the facing surfaces of the front fingers and rear fingers are each provided with a notch which is configured to grip the side edges, and is provided with gripping means which moves up and down together with the second suction means and clamps and grips the side edges, and the gripping means is configured to grip the carton at a spacing narrower than the spacing at which the front fingers and rear fingers grip the carton, and the carton is moved between the front fingers and rear fingers while clamped by the gripping means, and the gripping by the gripping means is released when the side edges are positioned at the height of the notches.

[0019] In this way, an open carton can be smoothly and easily set between the front and rear fingers that have notches and then transferred. Excessive load is not placed on the carton during transfer, and damage to the carton is also suppressed.

[0020] (7) A carton conveying device according to the present invention is a carton conveying device which conveys a carton in which the first and second sides that constitute a body portion for storing a product are connected at both side edges, has a first flap at both ends of the first side that are not connected, and has a second flap at both ends of the second side, and the boundary between the first side and the first flap and the boundary between the second side and the second flap are curved, with the side edges located at the front and rear and the opening of the carton facing sideways, and is preferably configured to have front and rear fingers which grip the body portion of the carton from the front and rear, and have cutouts on the opposing surfaces of the front and rear fingers, respectively, which grip the side edges.

[0021] In this way, the carton can be transported in the desired open position without separation, and as a result, it is possible to automatically stop the carton at a desired position, supply products during transport, or fold the first and second flaps to close the opening, enabling automatic boxing.

[0022] (8) A carton opening method according to the present invention is a carton opening method in which a carton is taken out of a carton in which a first surface portion and a second surface portion that constitute a body portion for storing a product in a folded state overlap with both side edges connected to each other, a first flap is provided at both ends of the unconnected first surface portion and a second flap is provided at both ends of the second surface portion, and the boundary between the first surface portion and the first flap and the boundary between the second surface portion and the second flap are curved, and when the carton is supplied to a carton conveying device, the carton is opened to a state in which the product can be stored. The method includes a step of folding the first flap along the boundary to pre-fold it and a step of folding the second flap along the boundary before opening the carton, and a step of separating a first suction means and a second suction means that respectively suction the first surface portion and the second surface portion to widen the space between the first surface portion and the second surface portion to open the carton, and the carton is opened with the first flap and the second flap, which have been pre-folded as described above, returned to their original state.

[0023] (9) In the step of pre-folding the first flap and the step of pre-folding the second flap, the first flap and the second flap that overlap in a folded state may be pre-folded by folding them together. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the present invention, for example, a carton can be used in which the boundaries between the first and second flaps that close the opening and the body are curved, forming a pillow-shaped box when assembled, and the carton can be opened while forming an opening by reliably separating the upper and lower flaps on the product supply side, and the carton can be transported in this open position, allowing automatic box packing using such a carton. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a carton to be treated by the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of an automatic box packing device in which a carton opening device and a carton conveying device according to the present invention are mounted. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a carton opening device according to the present invention; [Diagram 5] 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the top surface of the pillow box carton is suction-held by the first suction cup portion. FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration in which a pillow box carton is gripped by front and rear fingers of a carton conveying device. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a left side view showing a portion of an embodiment of a carton opening device according to the present invention; [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a front view showing a portion of an embodiment of a carton opening device according to the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a front view showing a portion of an embodiment of a carton opening device according to the present invention. [Figure 11] 1 is an enlarged front view showing a portion of an embodiment of a carton opening device according to the present invention; [Figure 12] 1 is an enlarged front view showing a portion of an embodiment of a carton opening device according to the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various changes, modifications, and improvements can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0027] 2, 3, etc. show a preferred embodiment of the carton opening device and carton conveying device according to the present invention, and an automatic packing device for pillow box cartons in which they are implemented. The automatic packing device 10 of this embodiment includes a carton stocker 11 that temporarily stores folded pillow box cartons 9 in an upright position lined up in front of and behind, a carton conveying device 12 that conveys the pillow box cartons 9 taken out of the carton stocker 11, a carton supplying device 13 that takes out the pillow box cartons 9 from the carton stocker 11 one by one from the front and supplies them to the carton conveying device 12 arranged below, and a carton opening device 15 that is arranged on the carry-in side of the carton conveying device 12 and opens the folded pillow box cartons 9. In addition, various devices and equipment that perform various processes on the pillow box cartons 9 during transportation are arranged along the transport direction of the carton conveying device 12.

[0028] Carton supplying device 13 includes an arm member 21 that moves in a vertical plane so that its tip moves up and down, a support member 22 that is supported by a bearing in a cantilevered state at the tip of arm member 21, and a first suction cup portion 23 that is connected to support member 22. Arm member 21 is disposed close to the outside of carton conveying device 12, and receives output from a first servo motor connected to the base end side of arm member 21 to rotate forward and backward within a predetermined angular range around rotation shaft 211. That is, it moves between a first position where the tip is relatively higher and on the carton stocker 11 side as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 2, and a second position where the tip is relatively lower and on the carton conveying device 12 side as shown by the solid line.

[0029] As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the support member 22 includes a second plate member 222 that is connected perpendicularly to one end of a strip-shaped first plate member 221 and supports the first plate member 221 on the arm member 21. The first plate member 221 is attached to the arm member 21 so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the pillow box cartons 9 in the carton conveying device 12. The first plate member 221 is formed with a slit 2211 extending in the longitudinal direction, and a connecting plate member 223 is attached to the slit 2211 so as to be movable along the slit 2211. The first suction cup portion 23 is attached to the connecting plate member 223. The connecting plate member 223 is fixed to the first plate member 221 or released from the fixed state by operating a fixing lever 224. As a result, in the released state, the connecting plate member 223 is moved along the slit 2211, and at a predetermined position, the fixing lever 224 is operated to fix the connecting plate member 223 to the first plate member 221, thereby positioning the first suction cup portion 23 at the desired position.

[0030] In addition, a second servo motor 24 is mounted on the tip side of the arm member 21, and upon receiving the output of the second servo motor 24, the support member 22 rotates forward and backward, making it possible to change the orientation of the suction surface of the first suction cup portion 23. Specifically, when the arm member 21 is in the first position, the suction surface of the first suction cup portion 23 is controlled to face the pillow box carton 9 stored in the carton stocker 11, and when the arm member 21 is in the second position, the suction surface of the first suction cup portion 23 is controlled to face the conveying surface of the carton conveying device 12.

[0031] The first suction cup portions 23 are provided in two, one on the left and one on the right, at a predetermined distance along the axial direction of the support member 22, and are configured to adsorb both the left and right longitudinal sides of the upper surface portion 3 of the body portion 2 of the pillow box carton 9 located at the front and exposed inside the carton stocker 11.

[0032] A holding guide plate 25 is attached to the connecting plate member 223. The holding guide plate 25 holds down the vicinity of both longitudinal ends of the top surface 3 of the pillow box carton 9, and a leading edge 251 is shaped to correspond to the curve of the fold line 7 provided at the boundary between the top surface 3 of the pillow box carton 9 and the upper flap 5, and when the holding guide plate 25 is in contact with the top surface 3, the leading edge 251 is adjusted in position to be close to or in contact with the fold line 7. A through hole 252 penetrating vertically is provided at a predetermined position of the holding guide plate 25, and the first suction cup 23 is configured to, for example, penetrate through the through hole 252, and the suction surface of the first suction cup 23 protrudes or is exposed below the holding guide plate 25. This allows the suction surface of first suction cup portion 23 to suction upper surface portion 3 of pillow box carton 9 with holding guide plate portion 25 in contact with upper surface portion 3 of pillow box carton 9 .

[0033] Then, when arm member 21 that has adsorbed pillow box carton 9 is in the second position, carton supplying device 13 releases suction of first suction cup portion 23, thereby supplying pillow box carton 9 to carton conveying device 12. A carton opening device 15, which will be described later, is installed at the supply point to carton conveying device 12, and carton opening device 15 separates upper surface portion 3 and lower surface portion 4 of folded, flat pillow box carton 9 to open it into an open cylindrical shape. Thereafter, carton conveying device 12 conveys opened pillow box carton 9.

[0034] The carton conveying device 12 conveys the pillow box cartons 9 opened into a cylindrical shape by the carton opening device 15 in a horizontal position, i.e., in a position in which the openings at both ends in the longitudinal direction are located on the left and right. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the structure includes a plurality of sprockets 28 arranged at the front and rear ends in the conveying direction and at predetermined positions on both the left and right sides in the conveying direction, an endless chain 29 stretched around the sprockets 28, and front fingers 31 and rear fingers 32 attached to the endless chain 29 at a predetermined pitch. The distance between the pair of front fingers 31 and rear fingers 32 is set to a length corresponding to the width of the pillow box carton 9 opened by the carton opening device 15. The pair of front fingers 31 and rear fingers 32 on the left and right sides sandwich and hold both the left and right sides of the body part 2 of the pillow box carton 9 from the front and rear in the conveying direction, and convey the pillow box carton.

[0035] 6, the front finger 31 has a generally V-shaped notch 311 on its upper rear side, and similarly the rear finger 32 has a generally V-shaped notch 321 on its upper front side. The installation heights of the respective notches 311, 321 are set to the same height, and are configured so as to sandwich and support a pair of long sides of the pillow box carton 9, i.e., the side edges of the boundary where the upper surface part 3 and the lower surface part 4 are connected, between the front and rear notches 321.

[0036] Since the notches 321 are generally V-shaped and tapered toward the back, the side edges of the pillow box carton 9 are located at the deepest parts of the notches 311, 321, respectively, and are prevented from moving upward or downward. As a result, the side edges of the pillow box carton 9, which are the folded-back parts of the upper surface part 3 and the lower surface part 4, are not separated from the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32, respectively, and the pillow box carton 9 is conveyed while maintaining the distance between the deepest parts of the notches 311, 321 provided in the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32. In the pillow box carton 9 in a cylindrical state in which the widthwise central portion of the upper surface portion 3 and the lower surface portion 4 are separated, for example, even if a force acts to return the pillow box carton 9 to its original flat shape as the separation distance between the upper surface portion 3 and the lower surface portion 4 becomes shorter and the length between the both side edges becomes longer, the both side edges are in contact with the deepest part of the cutout portion 321 and cannot move to the back, i.e., cannot separate in a direction to widen further in the horizontal direction, and even if the side edges try to move upward or downward of the front finger 31 or the rear finger 32 due to the returning force, the movement is prevented by the upper and lower inclined surfaces of the V-shaped cutout portions 311, 321. As a result, by appropriately setting the interval between the deepest parts of the cutout portions 311, 321 of the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32, the fold lines 7 at both end edges of the upper surface portion 3 and the lower surface portion 4 are curved, and the pillow box carton 9 is transported in a state in which the openings at both ends of the body portion 2 are maintained in a desired dimensional shape.

[0037] The angle θ of the V-shaped cuts 311, 321 is wider than the angle θ1 of the side edge portion of the pillow box carton 9 in an open state during transportation. This makes it possible to guide the side edge into the cuts 311, 321 even if, for example, the distance between the two side edges of the pillow box carton 9 is shortened and the angle of the side edge portion becomes wider. Furthermore, the V-shaped inclined surface allows smooth guidance and allows the side edge to be guided to the deepest part.

[0038] The carton opening device 15 has the following configuration in addition to the first suction cup section 23 and the pressing guide plate section 25 of the carton supplying device 13. Folding guide members 35 for folding the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the carton conveying device 12. Note that one of the folding guides 35 (the front side) in Fig. 4 and the L-shaped plate 36 to which it is attached are not shown. The folding guide member 35 has an upper surface 351 that has a curved shape, a bottom surface 352 that has a flat shape, and a leading edge 353 that is curved to match the curved shape of the fold line 7.

[0039] The end face of this bending guide member 35 opposite to the tip edge portion 353 is attached to the upright wall portion 361 of the L-shaped plate 36, and is attached to the tip of the cylinder rod 371 of the first cylinder 37 via a connecting member 38. The cylinder rod 371 is configured to reciprocate up and down, and the bending guide member 35 also rises and falls in accordance with the reciprocating movement.

[0040] In addition, when the folding guide member 35 is attached to the first cylinder 37, the bottom surface 352 of the folding guide member 35 is located in a horizontal plane, and moves up and down while maintaining that position. Furthermore, a cutout portion 3621 and a slit-shaped guide hole 3622 are provided in the bottom plate portion 362 of the L-shaped plate 36 attached to the connecting member 38. When the fixing screw 39 is loosened, the L-shaped plate 36 and the folding guide member 35 move forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and when the fixing screw 39 is tightened, the L-shaped plate 36 and the folding guide member 35 are fixed at that position. The tip edge portion 353 of the fixed folding guide member 35 is set to be close to the fold line 7 of the pillow box carton 9 sucked by the first suction cup portion 23 of the carton supplying device 13 that is in the second position in a plan view.

[0041] In this configuration, the first cylinder 37 is operated to keep the folding guide member 35 in the upper position, and the carton supply device 13 moves the pillow box carton 9 downward to the second position (see Fig. 8(a)→(b)). With this downward movement, the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 of the pillow box carton 9 come into contact with the upper surface 351 of the folding guide member 35 and are urged upward. At this time, the leading edge portion 353 of the folding guide member 35 is located near the outside of the fold line 7 between the lower surface portion 4 and the lower flap 6 of the pillow box carton 9, and the leading edge portion 251 of the holding guide plate portion 25 is located near the inside of the fold line 7 between the upper surface portion 3 and the upper flap 5 of the pillow box carton 9, so that the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 are folded together along the fold line 7 to form a fold. In this manner, the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 are provisionally folded upward (see FIG. 8(c)).

[0042] Furthermore, the carton opening device 15 is provided with a second suction cup 40 that suctions the bottom surface 4 of the pillow box carton 9 that is suctioned by the first suction cup 23 of the arm member 21 in the second position (see FIG. 9, etc.). The second suction cup 40 is attached to the upper surface of a movable base member 41. The movable base member 41 is disposed in the lateral center of the carton conveying device 12 so as to extend from the upstream side to the downstream side, and moves up and down as driven by a drive device (e.g., a servo motor, etc.) not shown, and the second suction cup 40 also moves up and down together with the moving base member 41 as it moves up and down. Then, when it reaches the raised position, the suction surface at the upper end of the second suction cup 40 comes into contact with the bottom surface 4 of the pillow box carton 9 and holds it by suction. This second suction cup portion 40, while adsorbing and holding the lower surface portion 4, moves downward and separates from the first suction cup portion 23, causing the upper surface portion 3 and the lower surface portion 4 of the pillow box carton 9 to separate at the center portions in the width direction and open up and down to become open.

[0043] In this embodiment, when forming the opening for supplying the above-mentioned product, before or when the second suction cup portion 40 starts to move downward, the first cylinder 37 is operated to lower the folding guide member 35, the flat bottom surface 352 of the folding guide member 35 is brought into contact with the upper flap 5, and the second suction cup portion 40 is moved downward in this contact state (see solid line in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8(d)). In this way, the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 provisionally folded upward return to a horizontal position, and when the lower surface portion 4 of the body portion 2 is pulled downward by the second suction cup portion 40 while keeping the position horizontal, the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 are prevented from bending upward, and the lower flap 6 together with the lower surface portion 4 is curved and deformed into a downward convex state. Therefore, the lower flap 6 does not bend upward to block the opening. Once the lower flap 6 is in a downward convex state, the opening continues to expand.

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a pair of gripping claw members 43 are provided on the upper surface of the movable base member 41 to pinch a pair of long sides of the body portion 2 of the pillow box carton 9. The gripping claw members 43 rotate forward and backward within a predetermined angle range, have gripping portions 431 cut into a V-shape on the opposing surfaces of their tips, and receive power from a drive source (not shown) to transition between an upright position shown by a solid line in Fig. 9 and a laid-down standby position shown by a dotted line. For example, a second cylinder may be provided on the lower surface of the movable base member 41, and the reciprocating motion of the cylinder rod of the second cylinder may be transmitted by a power transmission mechanism such as a link mechanism or gears to allow the gripping claw members 43 on both sides to stand up and fall down to perform opening and closing operations.

[0045] Then, in synchronization with the timing at which the first suction cup portion 23 and the second suction cup portion 40 are opened, the pair of gripping claw members 43 are raised and controlled to pinch the long sides of the body portion 2 of the pillow box carton 9.

[0046] Furthermore, in the upright position, the distance between the pair of gripping portions 431 is shorter than the distance between the notches 311, 321 of the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32. As a result, the pillow box carton 9 that has been opened by being pulled relatively upward and downward by the first suction cup portion 23 and the second suction cup portion 40 is gripped at a distance narrower than the distance between the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32 of the carton conveying device 12, and the width of the body portion 2 of the opened pillow box carton 9 is made shorter than the distance between the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32. After the pillow box carton 9 is sandwiched between the pair of gripping claw members 43, the suction of the first suction cup portion 23 is released, and the arm member 21 is preferably controlled to return to the first position.

[0047] Next, the movable base member 41 is moved downward, and the long sides (side edges) of the body portion 2 of the pillow box carton 9 opened by the pair of gripping claw members 43 are controlled so as to be at the same height as the deepest parts of the cutouts 311, 321 of the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32 (see FIG. 10). Then, the gripping claw members 43 are brought into a down position and the grip is released. As a result, the pillow box carton 9 tries to return to its original flat position due to its restoring force, and the distance between both long sides, i.e., the width of the pillow box carton 9, increases, and each long side (side edge) comes into contact with the cutouts 311, 321 of the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32. At the same time, the suction of the second suction cup portion 40 is also released. As a result, the pillow box carton 9 is handed over to the carton conveying device 12, and the movable base member 41 is further lowered to a position where the second suction cup portion 40 does not contact the pillow box carton 9, and then the pillow box carton 9 is intermittently conveyed in accordance with the intermittent operation of the carton conveying device 12.

[0048] 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the carton conveying device 12 is equipped with a product supplying device (not shown) that supplies products into the pillow box carton 9 in the conveying direction from the carton opening device 15, a lower flap raising device 50 that folds the lower flap 6 at the fold line 7 to stand it up, and an upper flap lowering device 53 that folds the upper flap 5 downward at the fold line 7 to lower it, etc. By these devices, the openings on both sides of the pillow box carton 9 containing the products are closed by the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6, and the product is made into a box and packed.

[0049] The lower flap raising device 50 is provided with a flat plate member 51 whose leading edge has a curved shape corresponding to the curve of the fold line 7, and is configured such that the flat plate member 51 moves up and down by being driven by, for example, a cylinder or the like, so that the flat plate member 51 comes into contact with and lifts up the lower flap 6. The movement of the flat plate member 51 is preferably such that it does not rise straight up, but rather rises gradually closer to the body 2 of the pillow box carton 9 by a link mechanism or the like.

[0050] The upper flap folding device 53 is configured to support a cylindrical main body 54 having a curved surface with a bulging middle part in the direction along the conveying direction, on a bearing so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending in a direction parallel to the conveying direction, and the main body 54 is driven by a cylinder or the like to move up and down, so that when the main body 54 moves down, it comes into contact with the upper flap 5 and pushes it down to close it. This allows the main body 54 to rotate and neatly fold the flap.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the first suction cup 23 and the like are moved downward with the folding guide member 35 waiting at the upper position to urge the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 upward, but for example, the first suction cup 23 may be left waiting at a predetermined position and the first cylinder 37 may be operated to move the folding guide member 35 upward to urge the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 upward, or both may be moved simultaneously. However, when the folding guide member 35 is raised and lowered by a cylinder as in this embodiment, it is preferable because the movement control between the two positions, the upper position (waiting) and the lower position (returning the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 to the horizontal at the bottom surface 121), is simple.

[0052] In addition, as described above, in the embodiment, the member for pre-folding the upper flap 5 and the lower flap 6 upward and the member for holding the lower flap 6 horizontally are shared by the upper surface 351 and the bottom surface 352 of the folding guide member 35, but they may be configured as separate members.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the first cylinders 37 are provided on both sides of the pillow box carton 9 to raise and lower the folding guide members 35, but for example, they may be provided only in front of the product supply side, and the back side may not be raised or lowered. In this way, for example, the folding guide members 35 can be fixedly installed on the back side, simplifying the configuration and reducing the risk of breakdowns and maintenance work since they do not rise or fall. Furthermore, since the lower flap 6 on the back side rises when the pillow box carton 9 is opened, the possibility of the product popping out from the back side even if it is supplied with force can be reduced, and a separate stopper device or the like is not required.

[0054] Furthermore, in this embodiment, not only can the position of the first suction cup portion 23 be changed as described above, but also, for example, the second suction cup portion 40 and the gripping claw member 43 mounted on the movable base member 41 can be unitized and replaced as a unit, the holding guide plate portion 25 can be replaced, or the bending guide member 35 can be detached from the first cylinder 27 to be replaced with one having a different size and shape. Also, the carton conveying device may be configured such that one of the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32 is fixed to a chain and the other is movable in the forward and backward directions, or the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32 are attached to separate endless chains to change the phase and relative position of the endless chains, thereby making it possible to change the distance between the front finger 31 and the rear finger 32. This makes it possible to handle cartons of different size and shape.

[0055] For pillow box cartons of different sizes, it is preferable to change the moving (lowering) distance of the movable base member 41 according to the size of the opening of the pillow box carton (the degree of expansion of the upper surface part 3 and the lower surface part 4 of the pillow box carton 9). Specifically, for example, the larger the opening, the longer the lowering distance of the movable base member 41 should be.

[0056] In the above-described embodiment, the pillow box carton 9 stored in the carton stocker 11 arranged above is removed, and the upper and lower flaps 5 and 6 are pre-folded while moving downward, and the upper and lower flaps 5 and 6 bent upward by the pre-folding are returned to a horizontal position, the pillow box carton 9 is opened, and the opened pillow box carton 9 is set in the carton conveying device 12 arranged below. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the carton conveying device and the carton stocker may be arranged upside down, the pillow box carton 9 may be moved upward, and the flaps may be pre-folded along the way, then returned to their original position, and the pillow box carton may be opened.

[0057] Also, for example, the carton stocker and carton conveying device may be arranged side by side so that the pillow box carton can be moved horizontally and laterally while the flap pre-folding and return processes and the pillow box carton opening processes are performed, and the direction in which the pillow box carton moves when performing each process can be set in various ways.

[0058] Various aspects of the present invention have been described above using embodiments, but it should be noted that these embodiments and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are provided to aid in understanding the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations and manufacturing methods explicitly described in the specification, but also includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed in this specification. Although the configurations of the present invention that are sought to be patented are specified in the appended claims, it is noted for the sake of clarity that configurations disclosed in this specification that are not currently specified in the claims may be claimed in the future. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1: Pillow box 2: Body 3:Top part 4: Bottom part 5: Upper flap 6: Lower flap 7: Fold line 9: Pillow box carton 10: Automatic box packing device 11: Carton Stocker 12: Carton conveyor 13: Carton supply device 15: Carton opening device 23: First suction cup part 25: Retaining guide plate 31: Front finger 311: Notch 32: Rear finger 321: Cutout 35: Folding guide member 351: Above 352: Bottom surface 40: Second suction cup 43: Holding claw member 431:Handling part

Claims

1. a first surface portion and a second surface portion which constitute a body portion for storing a product in a folded state, overlapping each other, both side edges of the first surface portion and the second surface portion being connected to each other, a first flap being provided on both ends of the first surface portion which are not connected to the second surface portion, and a second flap being provided on both ends of the second surface portion, and a boundary between the first surface portion and the first flap and a boundary between the second surface portion and the second flap are curved, said carton opening device opens the carton so as to be capable of storing the product when feeding the carton to a carton conveying device, a first suction means for suctioning the first surface portion; a moving means for moving the carton attracted by the first attracting means to a carry-in side of the carton conveying device; a pre-folding means for pre-folding the first flap and the second flap together along the curved boundary by biasing the first flap toward the first surface portion; a second suction means for suctioning the second surface of the carton waiting in a position parallel to a conveying surface of the carton conveying device at the carry-in side; a guide member that comes into contact with the first flap and returns the pre-folded first flap to a position parallel to the conveying surface, a carton opening device configured to open the carton by moving the second suction means while the guide member is in contact with the first flap, thereby widening the gap between the first surface portion adsorbed by the first suction means and the second surface portion adsorbed by the second suction means.

2. the pre-folding means has an upper surface that contacts the second flap and has a curved portion that bulges in the width direction at the center and has a downwardly inclined tip, 2. The carton opening device according to claim 1, wherein the curved portion rises relative to the second flap and biases it obliquely upward.

3. 3. The carton opening device according to claim 1, further comprising a holding guide plate portion for holding the vicinity of the boundary of the first surface portion.

4. 4. A carton opening device according to claim 1, wherein a member that contacts the second flap constituting the temporary folding means and urges it upward has a flat bottom surface that constitutes the guide member.

5. The pre-folding means pre-folds the first flap and the second flap provided at both ends, 5. The carton opening device according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is provided only on the side where the products are supplied.

6. the carton conveying device conveys the carton in a position in which the side edges connecting the first surface portion and the second surface portion are located at the front and rear, and the opening of the carton faces sideways; a front finger and a rear finger for gripping the body portion of the carton from the front and rear; a notch is provided on each of the opposing surfaces of the front finger and the rear finger; The cutout is configured to grip the side edge, a gripping means that moves up and down together with the second suction means and grips the side edge by pinching it; 6. A carton opening device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the gripping means is configured to grip the carton at a narrower interval than the interval at which the front and rear fingers pinch the carton, and the carton is moved between the front and rear fingers while pinched by the gripping means, and the gripping by the gripping means is released when the side edge is positioned at the height of the notch.

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