Packaging machine having a station for folding preformed cartons and method thereof - Patents.com

Abstract

A carton erection machine for cartons (17) for packaging articles (15, 15') comprises means for feeding erectable cartons in a feed direction, said cartons having a plurality of side flaps or panels (18, 19) folded onto a central portion (25) of the carton with folds essentially parallel to said feed direction, said machine further comprising a movable element (26) designed to move between a first position away from the path of the carton and a second position in which said element is designed to be inserted under an edge (27) of at least one of said side flaps or panels (19) so that said side flap or panel is lifted relative to said central portion in particular in cooperation with the feeding of the carton.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging machine apparatus including a station for folding preformed cartons and a method for folding cartons. [Background technology]

[0002] Various types of cartons suitable for packaging and effectively protecting articles are generally known. A particularly advantageous example from these points of view is described in the application EP 3093246 filed in the name of the applicant. Said cartons can be made to the dimensions of the individual articles by a packaging machine apparatus comprising means for measuring the articles to be packaged and for cutting and creasing the carton, in particular starting from a continuous corrugated board web (folded on a reel or fan or produced in any generally known manner), and means for making dies and for positioning the articles on the carton once appropriately folded and glued, and then closing said carton around the articles. The cutting and creasing are carried out according to the measurements of the articles obtained using suitable means, the articles are placed on the cut and folded carton, which is then closed around the articles by further folding and gluing operations.

[0003] Human involvement is limited to the loading of individual items onto the machine's conveyor belt.

[0004] Machines of this type are described in the applications EP 3 463 844 A, EP 3 464 085 A and EP 3 464 086 A and in the patents EP 3 464 074 A and EP 3 464 073 A, filed in the name of the applicant, which relate to various solutions suitable therefor.

[0005] In particular, specification EP 3 464 085 A describes a folding station explicitly designed to form the cartons in EP 3 093 246 A. This station must take into account the need to fold a series of reinforcing flaps against a central section (defined by a longitudinal fold) to which they should be glued, while a pair of side closure flaps must instead remain open to accommodate the article to be packaged. This structure is further complicated by the presence of folding tabs (to which the closure flaps are joined) that must be closed and glued to the central section to create the reinforcement. The solution adopted provides a pair of side bars that can be moved transversely to the carton feed direction and appropriately positioned relative to the carton according to its dimensions. When rotated, the bars cause the closure of the reinforcing flaps and the folding tabs without affecting the enclosing flaps that are held open by a pair of rest elements. All this is done in commonly known machinery while the carton is held in place by suitable holding elements and by appropriately stopping the conveyor, and in order for the carton to resume its progress, the folding bars, rests and holding elements are removed from the carton and then repositioned on the next carton, the same applies to the pressing elements which compress the reinforcing flaps on the central portion to complete the bonding. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] European Patent Application Publication No. 3093246 [Patent Document 2] European Patent Application Publication No. 3463844 [Patent Document 3] European Patent Application Publication No. 3464085 [Patent Document 4] European Patent Application Publication No. 3464086 [Patent Document 5] European Patent No. 3464074 [Patent Document 6] European Patent No. 3464073 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The large number of moving parts required according to the solutions described above imparts significant mechanical complexity to the machine, thereby increasing capital costs and the number of components requiring maintenance, which is made more complicated by the size of said components and also involves increased energy usage. Finally, the need to fix the cartons in place during folding limits the productivity that can be obtained from the machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above-mentioned drawbacks have now been overcome according to the invention by a carton assembly machine for cartons for packaging articles, comprising means for feeding a prefabricated carton in a feed direction, said carton having, on a central part of the carton, a number of folded side flaps or panels whose folds are essentially parallel to said feed direction, said machine further comprising a movable element, said machine being designed to move between a first position away from the path of the carton and a second position in which said element is designed to be inserted underneath at an edge of at least one of said side flaps or panels so that said side flap or panel is lifted relative to said central part in particular in cooperation with the feeding of the carton.

[0009] The movable element is designed to return to the first position to avoid unnecessary contact with the carton, in particular to avoid contact with side flaps and / or panels that should not be lifted.

[0010] According to the invention, the machine may also comprise folding means designed to fold, more particularly by suitable longitudinal folds, a number of flaps or panels hinged on said central portion before one of said flaps or panels is lifted relative to the center.

[0011] According to a further aspect, the machine may comprise a pressing means, e.g. a pressing roller, interposed between the folding means and the movable element to promote adhesion of at least a portion of said flap or panel to the central portion.

[0012] The term "preformed carton" (briefly "carton") means a suitably cut carton with suitable creases for forming the package, which may already be glued if appropriate, as is the case with the cartons described in the above-mentioned documents. In particular, it means a carton in each stage of its formation, in particular in the creased and possibly folded die-cut form.

[0013] The present invention also relates to a method for assembling a packaging carton, comprising folding a plurality of side flaps and / or panels onto a central portion of a carton as defined above, and selectively reopening some of said flaps or panels, in particular by means of a movable element as described above.

[0014] The invention will now be better explained by illustrating preferred embodiments thereof, given as examples, without limiting the scope of protection of this patent, in particular with reference to the drawings, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an entire machine for forming cartons and packaging articles according to the invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows diagrammatically part of the machine with the carton folded, with the folding means visible; [Diagram 3]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a portion of a mechanical device with visible moving elements at various stages of selectively lifting two side flaps of a carton from a central portion, and structures designed to complete the opening. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a portion of a mechanical device with visible moving elements at various stages of selectively lifting two side flaps of a carton from a central portion, and structures designed to complete the opening. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a portion of a mechanical device with visible moving elements at various stages of selectively lifting two side flaps of a carton from a central portion, and structures designed to complete the opening. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic view of details of the movable elements of FIGS. 3 to 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] A machine according to the invention is shown in FIG.

[0017] In this machine, the corrugated board web 1 is fed by generally known means, either on a reel or folded into a fan shape, or made in another suitable way, for example as described in application EP 3529050 or IT 102018000009606. A first cutting station 2 separates rectangular sections from the web for the creation of cartons following a further forming step. The cartons proceed on a suitable conveyor (of a generally known kind) and reach a creasing station 3 designed to create suitable creases both longitudinally and transversely relative to the carton feed direction. A second cutting station 4 is designed to perform a series of cuts. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said cutting station may be made, for example, according to the teachings of EP 3464073. According to a further embodiment, this solution may be modified by doubling the number of cutting units. In this way, the transverse cuts of the transverse creases of the cartons produced according to this invention may be made in a single step instead of two, eliminating the need to slow down or stop the carton during its formation.

[0018] Obviously it should be possible to simultaneously space the various cutting units in an appropriate manner so that they are positioned above the folds at the same time.

[0019] This is followed by a gluing station 11 where adhesive is applied at the appropriate locations. Then comes a folding station 12, which comprises the components described above and will be described in detail below. The carton reaches position 7, where the articles to be packaged 15, 15' are placed with the reinforcement panel glued to the central part and with the side closure flaps open to allow the placement of the articles. The articles may arrive from a loading station comprising one or more loading belts 6, 6' on which the articles can be loaded by workers. In the illustrated case, there are two loading belts. The articles on the second belt are pushed onto the first belt by suitable means 5 and alternate with the articles loaded directly onto the first belt. A measuring structure 13 measures the position and dimensions of the articles. This data is used to size the carton according to the dimensions of the articles. An alignment system 14 centers the articles appropriately and they move onto a conveyor belt 35, which places the articles on the preformed carton at point 7. The loading and placement of the articles may be performed in another commonly known manner.

[0020] After the articles are placed on the carton, the carton reaches a further folding and gluing station 8 and a final closing station 9. The latter can be made as in EP 3464074. According to yet a further embodiment, the closing station can be manufactured on a moving lower carriage with a conveyor belt. In this way, the moving lower carriage allows the closing station to process the articles and cartons while they are stationary relative to the station, but without stopping their movement on the conveyor of the machine.

[0021] Further processing stations 10 may follow, for example for labelling.

[0022] As mentioned above, the cartons may be made, for example, as described in EP 3093246. However, the machine and method according to the invention is not limited to application to only this type of carton, and may be used with other types of cartons having suitable characteristics.

[0023] With reference to FIG. 2, one can observe a carton 17, which is moved by a suitable conveyor (of a type generally known), for example a conveyor belt located under the carton, which moves the carton by friction. In this section there is also a system 16 (also generally known) for holding the carton in place on the conveyor belt, which may for example comprise another belt that fixes the carton between itself and the conveyor belt. This presses the central part 25 of the carton and stops at a suitable point to leave space for another system that cooperates with the conveyor belt and allows the closing of the side flaps 18 or panels 19. The folding means may comprise one or more movable section bars 20. These may move transversely to the carton feed direction and are designed to be moved according to the dimensions of the carton, in particular the position of the vertical folds that separate the flaps and / or side panels from the central part 25, the folds being made each time according to the dimensions of the article to be packaged, measured as described above.

[0024] These means may be section bars (essentially belt-shaped) with a helical course 20. The first end 21 is essentially vertical and the height of the upper edge 23 increases in the carton feed direction and is designed to be positioned so that its side flaps and panels can extend above it. The edge 23 also extends below the surface along which the carton advances so as to allow the panel or panel or flap to engage with the lower edge without a joint. The cross section of the section bar is characterized by a sufficient rotation up to the second end 22, in particular a rotation of essentially 90°. In this way, the second end is positioned parallel to the surface along which the carton advances. The rotation from the first end to the second end is towards the carton and in the same direction as the folding of the panels or flaps. The torsion is such that, by appropriately positioning the contours, the first end 21 corresponds to the passage of the open side panels or flaps and the second end 22 is positioned above the area along which the central part with closed panels or flaps advances. Thus, as may be easily deduced, by positioning the edge 23 adjacent (outside) to the longitudinal fold on the carton about which the panel or flap must rotate, the mere feeding of the carton causes engagement of the flap or panel with the section bar, which causes closure against the central section. After the folding means, the machine preferably employs pressing means, such as rollers 24, designed to compress the panel or flap and promote adhesion where adhesive was previously applied, for example in the present case at the same points on the carton as in EP-A-3464085, or at appropriate places depending on the shape of the carton.

[0025] The carton continues to advance and move toward a device for selectively reopening a portion of the side flaps or panels.

[0026] 3, 4 and 5, the apparatus includes a movable element 26 that moves between a first position, as shown in FIG. 3, and a second position, as shown in FIGS.

[0027] In the first position, it does not interfere with the carton 17 during its passage. In the second position, it is designed to engage the side flap or panel 19. It is designed to assume the second position when the carton reaches a position where the edge 27 of the flap or panel to be lifted is located, with the end 28 of the mobile element 26 in the second position. In this way, the mobile element is designed to slide between the central portion 25 and the flap or panel 19 to be lifted, as can be seen in the sequence of figures 3, 4 and 5, due to the movement of the carton. The mobile element is preferably tongue-shaped with rounded ends 28 so as not to damage the carton. According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the closure flaps 19 to be lifted are not glued to the central part, whereas according to one embodiment of the invention, the folding flaps 29 are glued to the central part, said flaps being defined by a vertical fold 30 around which they are folded to the central part and a second vertical fold 31 around which the closure wings 19, the only ones that move upwards, are hinged. According to one embodiment of the invention, the mobile element 26 can rotate about a hinge 32 between the two positions mentioned above. The element is designed to return to the first position at the appropriate time so as not to interfere with the carton after lifting, in particular with the flaps 18 that should not be lifted. The device can be completed with shaped surfaces 33 having one end at the hinge 3 and branching off from the mobile element. They can be characterized by an outward torsion and can extend by an amount sufficient to open the panels or flaps sufficiently for the subsequent processing steps, almost completely if necessary. The torsion is sufficient to allow the operations to be carried out without damaging the carton and can be adapted to all possible machine dimensions.

[0028] For the movement of the movable element, means may be used that can be easily designed by one skilled in the art. For example, Figure 6 shows a cylinder 34 that can feature hydraulic, pneumatic or solenoid operation designed to move the movable element.

[0029] Other solutions are possible, for example the whole device may be displaced vertically or may be rotatable towards the path of the carton. The illustrated solution minimizes the parts to be handled and allows forming without the carton stopping at any time, thus speeding up the operation.

Claims

1. 1. A carton assembly machine (17) for a carton for packaging articles (15, 15'), comprising means for making a preformed carton advancing in a direction of travel, said carton having a plurality of side flaps or panels (18, 19) folded along folds that are parallel to said direction of travel on a central portion (25) of said carton, said carton assembly machine further comprising a movable element (26) designed to move between a first position away from the path of the carton and a second position in which said movable element is designed to be inserted under an edge (27) of at least one of said side flaps or panels (19) such that said side flap or panel is lifted relative to said central portion in cooperation with the advancement of the carton.

2. 2. The carton assembly machine of claim 1, wherein the movable elements are designed to return to the first position to avoid unnecessary contact with the carton and to avoid contact with side flaps and / or panels (18) that are not to be lifted.

3. A carton assembly machine as described in claim 1 or 2, comprising folding means (20) designed to fold a plurality of flaps or panels (18, 19) hinged on the central portion (17) by appropriate vertical creases before one of the flaps or panels is lifted relative to the central portion by the movable element (26).

4. 4. A carton assembly machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the folding means is a section bar (20) arranged longitudinally along the path of the carton and can be moved in a direction perpendicular to said path, the section bar having rounded corners (23) and a first end (21) arranged vertically to fit under the flap or panel, i.e. the end facing in the direction of the origin of the carton, and a second end (22) arranged parallel to and above a surface on which the carton may be placed, the section bar adopting a twisted cross section between the two ends.

5. 5. The carton assembly machine according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising a pressing means (24) interposed between said folding means and said movable element for promoting adhesion of at least a portion of said flap or panel to said central portion, said pressing means being a pressing roller.

6. 6. The carton assembly machine of claim 1, wherein the movable element (26) has rounded ends (28) and the movable element (26) is rotatable about a hinge (34) disposed parallel to a surface on which the carton may be placed.

7. 7. The carton assembly machine of claim 6, further comprising two forming surfaces (33) extending from the hinge (34) and diverging along the carton feed direction and characterized by a twist in cross section.

8. A method for assembling a packaging carton, comprising folding a plurality of side flaps and / or panels over a central portion of a carton assembled by a carton assembly machine described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and selectively reopening some of the side flaps or panels.

9. advancing the carton with the side flaps and / or panels folded over the central portion; moving a movable element from a first position in which the movable element does not interfere with the carton to a second position in which one end of the movable element may be inserted under an edge of one or more of the side flaps and / or panels when the carton reaches a position in which the one end may contact the edge when the movable element is in the second position; Lifting said side flap or panel; moving the movable element to the first position prior to contacting another side flap and / or panel during carton travel; The method of constructing a packaging carton according to claim 8, comprising:

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