Carton distribution method

Abstract

To increase the efficiency of packaging a specified number of cartons in a pack unit.SOLUTION: The carton classification method divides cartons, which consist of a predetermined number of cartons containing tissue paper, into groups to be continuously transported towards a wrapping step where they are packaged as a single unit. This method includes: a counting step that counts the number of transported cartons in the predetermined number or multiples thereof; and a classification step that divides the cartons for each of the predetermined number or multiples thereof as counted in the counting step. The classification step restarts the transportation of the stopped cartons after halting the transport of the cartons for each of the predetermined number or multiples thereof as counted in the counting step, ensuring a spacing between the cartons for each of the predetermined number or multiples thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for classifying cartons containing tissue paper and a method for distributing cartons containing tissue paper.

Background Art

[0002] Cartons containing tissue paper (so-called "box tissues") are sold individually as single units, and are also sold in a form where multiple cartons are packaged together in a single pack. For example, packs of multiple cartons, such as five or two, are arranged side by side at the store as a packaging pack body wrapped together with film (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to manufacture a packaging pack body in which a predetermined number of cartons are grouped together as described above, if the cartons cannot be handled individually for each of the predetermined number of cartons to be packaged in a single pack, the efficiency of packaging the predetermined number of cartons in a single pack unit may decrease. Therefore, there is room for improvement in enhancing the efficiency of packaging a predetermined number of cartons in a single pack unit.

[0005] The present case was created in view of the above problems, and one of its aims is to enhance the efficiency of packaging a predetermined number of cartons in a single pack unit. In addition to this aim, the actions and effects derived from each configuration shown in the "Mode for Carrying Out the Invention" described later, which are actions and effects that cannot be obtained by conventional techniques, can also be positioned as other aims of the present case.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The carton sorting method disclosed herein sorts cartons that are continuously transported toward a wrapping process in which a group of cartons, each containing a predetermined number of tissue paper, are packaged as a single pack. The method comprises a counting step of counting the number of cartons being transported in increments of the predetermined number or an integer multiple of the predetermined number, and a sorting step of sorting the cartons in increments of the predetermined number or an integer multiple of the number counted in the counting step. The sorting step involves stopping the transport of the cartons in increments of the predetermined number or an integer multiple of the number counted in the counting step, then resuming the transport of the stopped cartons, and sorting the cartons by spacing them apart in increments of the predetermined number or an integer multiple of the number. Furthermore, the carton sorting method disclosed herein involves a parallel wrapping process in which a group of cartons containing tissue paper is packaged in units of one pack, and the cartons being transported continuously toward the wrapping process are sorted. This method comprises a parallel process for transporting the cartons toward each of the wrapping processes, and a sorting process for distributing the cartons being transported in series to each of the multiple wrapping processes in the parallel process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this method, it is possible to improve the efficiency of packaging a predetermined number of cartons into single packs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an exploded perspective view of a carton containing tissue paper. [Figure 2] This is a schematic perspective view showing a package containing multiple cartons bundled together. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the manufacturing process of the packaging. [Figure 4] This is a schematic top view showing the upstream section of the inspection part. [Figure 5]This is a schematic top view showing the downstream section of the inspection part. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart explaining the material preparation method. [Figure 7] This flowchart explains a carton inspection method that includes carton sorting and carton distribution methods. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. This embodiment describes a method for manufacturing a packaging pack in which multiple cartons containing tissue paper are packaged together into a single pack. This manufacturing method includes various methods such as a method for preparing the materials for the cartons (material preparation method), a method for inspecting the cartons (carton inspection method), a method for classifying the cartons (carton classification method), and a method for sorting the cartons (carton sorting method).

[0010] In this manufacturing process, various semi-finished products to be manufactured are continuously transported, and the packaging packs are produced sequentially. In this embodiment, the method used in the description is defined as follows. The direction of gravity is defined as downward, and the opposite direction is defined as upward. The direction in which various semi-finished products manufactured in the packaging are transported is defined as the transport direction, and upstream and downstream are defined based on the transport direction. In addition, the direction perpendicular to the transport direction in the horizontal direction is defined as the width direction. The transport direction is the so-called "MD direction," the width direction is the so-called "CD direction," and the direction perpendicular to both the transport direction and the width direction is the so-called "TD direction."

[0011] [I. One Embodiment] In the embodiment described below, the configuration for manufacturing the packaging pack is described in item [1], and the operation and effects of the configuration in item [1] are described in item [2]. [1. Structure] In this item [1], after explaining the packaging pack to be manufactured in sub-item [1-1], the apparatus for manufacturing the packaging pack will be explained in sub-item [1-2], and the method for manufacturing the packaging pack with this manufacturing apparatus will be explained in sub-item [1-3].

[0012] [1-1. Packaging Pack] In this item, the carton which forms a part of the packaging pack will be explained, and then the packaging pack will be explained. As shown in Fig. 1, the carton 1 is a box (so-called "box tissue") in which the tissue paper 3 is accommodated in the internal space. In the internal space, a stack of the tissue papers 3 is accommodated. This stack is folded so as to be taken out by a so-called pop-up method.

[0013] The above internal space is surrounded by a plurality of wall portions 1U, 1B, 1X, 1Y forming the carton 1. In this carton 1, rectangular wall portions 1U, 1B, 1X, 1Y are provided in a planar manner along the surface of the rectangular parallelepiped. These wall portions 1U, 1B, 1X, 1Y are roughly classified into the following four according to the arrangement position and the extending direction.

[0014] · Top wall portion 1U: A horizontal wall portion extending above the carton 1 · Bottom wall portion 1B: A horizontal wall portion extending below the carton 1 · Side wall portion 1X: A pair of standing wall portions facing each other between the top wall portion 1U and the bottom wall portion 1B · End wall portion 1Y: A pair of standing wall portions facing each other between the top wall portion 1U and the bottom wall portion 1B Note that the direction in which the pair of side wall portions 1X face each other and the direction in which the pair of end wall portions 1Y face each other are orthogonal to each other. In the carton 1 exemplified here, the top wall portion 1U and the bottom wall portion 1B extend over a larger area than the side wall portion 1X and the end wall portion 1Y.

[0015] Also, in the carton 1 exemplified in the present embodiment, the top wall portion 1U, the bottom wall portion 1B and the side wall portion 1X form a single-layer structure formed of, for example, a single material, while the end wall portion 1Y forms a multi-layer structure in which a plurality of materials are overlapped. An outer flap portion FU and an inner flap portion FD are provided on this end wall portion 1Y, and the outer flap portion FU is disposed outside the inner flap portion FD.

[0016] The outer flap portion FU is composed of a pair of flaps extending from the top wall portion 1U and a flap extending from the bottom wall portion 1B. This outer flap portion FU is of a so-called over-flap type in which a part of the flap on the top wall portion 1U side overlaps a part of the flap on the bottom wall portion 1B side. The inner flap portion FD is composed of a pair of flaps extending from the side wall portion 1X. When the inner flap portion FD is folded inward and the outer flap portion FU is folded inward to cover the inner flap portion FD, the end wall portion 1Y is formed.

[0017] An outlet 1T is provided on the top wall portion 1U as an opening for pulling out the tissue paper 3. The outlet 1T is formed by removing a part 11 of the top wall portion 1U. Specifically, when a part 11 of the top wall portion 1U is cut off along the broken line, the area of the part 11 is removed and the outlet 1T is opened. A plastic film 12 is attached to the inside of the top wall portion 1U to cover the outlet 1T at this outlet 1T. Slits are formed in the film 12 along the front-rear direction, and the tissue paper 3 can be taken out through the slits.

[0018] The carton 1 configured as described above is colored, and a design such as a corporate mark or a character, and an appearance such as a barcode are applied to the surface. Most of the appearance of this carton 1 is colored, a design is printed on the top wall portion 1U, and a barcode is printed on the bottom wall portion 1B. This barcode is not provided on the other wall portions 1U, 1X, 1Y, and is provided only on the bottom wall portion 1B. In other words, the barcode forms a unique appearance on the back surface of the carton 1.

[0019] Carton 1, as described above, is manufactured by folding a sheet-like material 1' (indicated by a symbol in only one location in Figure 3). In material 1', not only the top and bottom walls, but also the side and end wall flaps are in the form of a sheet that follows the same plane. This material 1' is in a state where the side wall 1X is folded down on one side (lower left side in Figure 1) between the side wall 1X and the bottom wall 1B of carton 1, and the side wall 1X is folded down on the other side (upper right side in Figure 1) between the side wall 1X and the top wall 1B. By unfolding these folded sections, a semi-finished carton 1 is manufactured from material 1'.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, the packaging pack 10 consists of multiple stacked cartons 1 wrapped in wrapping material 19. Specifically, the cartons are stacked so that the bottom wall portion 1B (see Figure 1) of one carton 1 faces the top wall portion 1U (see Figure 1) of another carton 1, and the side walls 1X (see Figure 1) of all cartons 1 are arranged along the same plane, as are the end walls 1Y (see Figure 1) of all cartons 1. Here, we illustrate a packaging pack 10 in which five (or more) cartons 1 are bundled together with wrapping material 19. However, a packaging pack may contain more than five cartons, such as two or four.

[0021] The colors (main colors) of each carton 1 packaged in the packaging pack 10 are arranged in a predetermined order along the direction in which the cartons 1 are stacked in the packaging pack 10. Three examples of predetermined arrangement patterns are given below. • Multi-pattern: Each carton has a different color pattern. • Bi-pattern: Each carton has a two-color pattern. • Mono-pattern: A pattern where each carton has the same color.

[0022] In the multi-pattern design, each of the cartons 1 that make up the carton group in the packaging pack 10 has a different appearance. In the bi-pattern design, at least a portion of the cartons 1 that make up the carton group in the packaging pack 10 have a different appearance. In the mono-pattern, the color of each carton 1 forming a carton group in the packaging pack 10 is the same, and the appearance of each carton 1 is similar or nearly identical.

[0023] In multi-pattern and bi-pattern designs, the order of the colors of each carton 1 arranged in the packaging pack 10 along the direction in which the cartons 1 are stacked is also predetermined. In this embodiment, when each of "Color A, Color B, Color C, Color D, Color E" is associated with a different arbitrary color, the order "Color A, Color B, Color C, Color D, Color E" is pre-set as the arrangement order in the multi-pattern case, and the order "Color A, Color B, Color A, Color B, Color A" is pre-set as the arrangement order in the bi-pattern case.

[0024] Therefore, the following arrangement in the multi-pattern packaging pack 10 is considered a defective pattern, as it is not a pre-set arrangement. • "Color E, Color A, Color B, Color C, Color D" (one position shifted) • "Color A, Color B, Color B, Color D, Color E" (Duplicate Color B, Missing Color C) • "Color A, Color C, Color B, Color D, Color E" (with the order of Color B and Color C being different)

[0025] Furthermore, the following arrangement in the bi-pattern packaging pack 10 is considered a defective pattern because it is not a pre-set arrangement. • "Color B, Color A, Color B, Color A, Color A" (one position shifted) • "Color A, Color B, Color A, Color B, Color B" (a sequence of Color B) In addition, in the case of a packaging pack 10 consisting of two cartons, a multi-pattern can be called a bi-pattern, and a bi-pattern can be called a multi-pattern.

[0026] In addition, the cartons are decorated with designs that correspond to the colors of the cartons. Specifically, the following five designs A to E form part of the appearance of carton 1. These designs A to E are all different and arbitrary designs. • Design A: The design applied to carton 1 of color A. • Design B: The design applied to carton 1, which is color B. • Design C: The design applied to carton 1 that forms color C. • Design D: The design applied to carton 1 that forms color D. • Design E: The design applied to carton 1, which is color E.

[0027] [1-2. Manufacturing equipment] Next, with reference to Figure 3, the apparatus for manufacturing the packaging pack 10 will be described. In this manufacturing apparatus, cartons 1 (indicated by a single symbol in Figure 3) containing bundles of tissue paper 3 are continuously transported toward a part that packages cartons arranged in a predetermined order into single pack units. This manufacturing apparatus is equipped with the following parts P1 to P6. • Bundle transport part P1: The part that transports bundles of tissue paper 3. • Material preparation part P2: Part 1 of preparing material 1' for carton 1. • Carton Part P3: Part that holds 3 bundles of tissue paper in 1 carton. • Inspection Part P4: Part for inspecting carton 1 • Parallel part P5: A part that transports carton 1 in parallel. • Wrapping part P6: The part where each carton is wrapped in five (a specified number) units.

[0028] The bundles of tissue paper 3 transported in the bundle transport part P1 are placed in the carton 1, which is folded with materials 1' prepared in the material preparation part P2. In other words, the bundle transport part P1 and the material preparation part P2 are provided in parallel, and the manufacturing process merges with these parts P1 and P2 in the downstream carton part P3. After carton part P3, the transported carton 1 is inspected in inspection part P4. Carton 1 that passes inspection is sorted to parallel part P5, and carton 1 that fails inspection is discharged from the production line.

[0029] When the routes for carton 1, which were previously transported in series, are split into parallel routes, carton 1 is transported in parallel part P5 along each of the split routes. Then, every five cartons of carton 1 transported along each route of parallel part P5 are packaged into one pack in wrapping part P6.

[0030] In the manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, the conveying speed of semi-finished products such as bundles of tissue paper 3 and cartons 1 upstream of the parallel part P5 (hereinafter referred to as the "upstream conveying speed") is set lower than the conveying speed of cartons 1 downstream of the parallel part P5 (hereinafter referred to as the "downstream conveying speed"). These conveying speeds correspond to the number of items to be conveyed per unit time (for example, the processing capacity expressed in units [items / minute]).

[0031] For example, the number of semi-finished products such as bundles of tissue paper 3 or carton 1 processed per unit time upstream of parallel part P5 (hereinafter referred to as "upstream processing capacity") is set to be no more than twice the number of carton 1 processed per unit time downstream of parallel part P5 (hereinafter referred to as "downstream processing capacity"). In other words, the upstream transport speed is set to be no more than twice the downstream transport speed. To elaborate, if the number of paths allocated in parallel part P5 is "a", then the upstream processing capacity is set to be no more than a times the downstream processing capacity, and the upstream transport speed is set to be no more than a times the downstream transport speed.

[0032] <Bundle conveying section> In the bundle transport part P1, bundles of tissue paper 3 folded using known equipment such as multi-unit machines (also called "multi-stand interfolders") and rotary folding machines are transported. These bundles are cut to a product size that can fit into carton 1 and are transported in parallel at positions corresponding to each carton 1 that will be transported from the material preparation part P2, which will be described next.

[0033] If the number of semi-finished products, such as bundles of tissue paper 3 or carton 1, that can be processed per unit time in parts P1 to P4 upstream of parallel part P5 (so-called "upstream processing capacity") is greater than the number of carton 1 that can be processed per unit time in wrapping part P6 downstream of parallel part P5 (so-called "downstream processing capacity"), then it is preferable to install parallel part P5 in the production line to distribute the routes as described above in order to suppress or prevent rate-limiting behavior by wrapping part P6. To give a specific example, if the processing capacity of the packaging machine used to wrap each of the five carton 1 in wrapping part P6 is lower than the processing capacity of the equipment used in the upstream parts P1 to P4, then it is preferable for the carton 1 routes to be distributed in parallel by parallel part P5.

[0034] <Materials preparation part> Part P2 of the materials preparation section includes parts 21 to 24, which are listed below. • Deposit Part 21: Part where materials 1' of carton 1 are placed. • Stack Part 22: The part where the placed materials 1' are stacked. • Storage Part 23: A part for temporarily storing stacked materials 1′. • Feed part 24: The part that feeds stored materials 1' downstream.

[0035] In deposit part 21, materials 1' corresponding to each carton 1 forming a carton group are stacked, and the materials 1' are arranged in a predetermined order along the transport direction of the materials 1'. The "predetermined order" here refers to the order corresponding to the pre-set order described above in the description of the packaging pack 10. This deposit part 21 is provided in multiple locations (five locations in this case) corresponding to the number of cartons 1 to be packaged in the packaging pack 10. In each deposit part 21, it is preferable that the portion corresponding to the opening 1T of the carton 1 is stacked in the material 1' in an upward-facing position. In this embodiment, material 1' assembled into a carton 1 with the opening 1T facing upwards is illustrated.

[0036] When a multi-pattern packaging pack 10 is manufactured, the deposit part 21 is provided with the following five parts 2A to 2E. • Part 1, 2A: Place material 1' of color A in deposit part 21. • Part 2B: Place material 1' of color B in deposit part 21 • Third Part 2C: Place material 1' of color C in deposit part 21 • Part 4, 2D: Place material 1' of color D in Deposit Part 21 • Part 2E of the fifth: Place material 1' of color E in deposit part 21

[0037] These parts 2A to 2E are arranged in a line along the transport direction, and this arrangement corresponds to a predetermined order. Furthermore, when a bi-pattern packaging pack 10 is manufactured, five parts 2A, 2B, 2A, 2B, and 2A are provided in the order of first part 2A, second part 2B, first part 2A, second part 2B, and first part 2A. In each of the deposit parts 21, numerous materials 1' are stacked, and the materials 1' are placed one by one onto a conveyor belt (not shown) located below. Figure 3 shows an example of the inside of a container 2 with an open bottom and numerous cartons 1 stacked below it.

[0038] In stack part 22, the materials 1' stacked in each of the deposit parts 21 are unloaded one by one in the transport direction, and the materials 1' unloaded from the downstream side in the transport direction are superimposed on the materials 1' unloaded from the upstream side in the transport direction in the deposit part 21. At this time, the materials 1' are superimposed in a position where the part corresponding to the outlet 1T of carton 1 faces upward. Specifically, in the first part 2A, material 1' of color A is superimposed with material 1' of color B, which is placed in the second part 2B. Then, material 1' of color C, which is placed in the third part 2C, is further superimposed on the superimposed material 1' of color A and material 1' of color B. Similarly, in the fourth part 2D and fifth part 2E, material 1' of two colors, D and E, are superimposed sequentially. In this way, a material set is manufactured in which five materials 1' are superimposed in an order corresponding to a predetermined arrangement.

[0039] In stack part 23, the material assemblies manufactured in stack part 22 are stacked on top of each other. Specifically, the material assemblies manufactured later are stacked on top of the material assemblies manufactured earlier. In feed part 24, materials 1' are dispensed one by one from the bottom of store part 23. The materials 1' dispensed in feed part 24 are transported to wrapping part PP6 (downstream). In storage unit 23, a first-in, first-out (FIFO) system is employed, as materials 1' are dispensed sequentially from below while material sets are stacked above. In this storage unit 23, materials 1' are stored only for a temporary period between the time the material sets are stacked and the time each material 1' is dispensed.

[0040] <Cartnapart> In carton part P3, materials 1' dispensed from feed part 24 are used to sequentially manufacture cartons 1 containing bundles of tissue paper 3. This carton part P3 includes parts 31 to 33 as shown below. • Folding Part 31: Part 31 of folding materials 1' from Feed Part 24. • Containment part 32: Part for containing tissue paper 3 in folded material 1'. • Sealing Part 33: The part where tissue paper 3 is used to seal the contents 1'.

[0041] In the folding part 31, the material 1' dispensed from the feed part 24 is folded and assembled so that the end wall 1Y (see Figure 1) of carton 1 is open. In the receiving part 32, the bundle of tissue paper 3 transported in the bundle transport part P1 is placed inside the material 1' (carton 1) assembled in the folding part 31. In the sealing part 33, the end wall 1Y (see Figure 1) of carton 1 is sealed. These parts 31 to 33 produce one carton 1 containing a bundle of tissue paper 3 at a time. The cartons 1 manufactured in this manner are transported toward the inspection part 4P, which will be described next, with the bottom wall 1B (see Figure 1) placed on the conveyor, the top wall 1U (see Figure 1) facing upward, and spaced apart from each other along the transport direction.

[0042] <Inspection Part> In inspection part P4, the condition of carton 1 is inspected in-line. Inspection part P4 is configured with the following input system, control system (inspection system), and output system. • Input system: This system detects the information necessary for testing and inputs that information into the control system. • Control system: A system that generates control signals based on information received from the input system. • Output system: Operates by control signals generated by the control system.

[0043] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, this inspection part 4P is equipped with sensors 40 as the input system, a controller 41 (control device) as the control system, and a side belt 43, a switch mechanism 44, and an alarm 45 (alarm part) as the output system. Signals detected by sensors 40 are input to controller 41, and control signals generated by controller 41 based on the input detection signals are output to side belts 43, switch mechanism 44, and alarm 45. The following describes the configurations of the input system, output system, and control system in that order.

[0044] ==Input System== The sensors 40 are installed in the manufacturing apparatus to detect carton 1 (only one location is indicated in Figures 4 and 5) from above, and sequentially detect the carton 1 as it is being transported. Here, the following three types of sensors 40 are given as examples. • Color sensor 4A: A sensor that detects the color of carton 1. • Barcode reader 4B: Scanner that scans the exterior of carton 1. • Camera 4C: An optical device (imaging device) that captures (images of) carton 1.

[0045] The color sensor 4A can sequentially detect the colors of the carton 1 being transported. The barcode reader 4B can also detect the carton 1 even if it is being transported, as long as there is a barcode within its detection area. The camera 4C can capture images of the carton 1 in transit, but images of the carton 1 when it is stationary are clearer than images of the carton 1 being transported.

[0046] Camera 4C can detect colors, which are the target of color sensor 4A, as well as barcodes, which are the target of barcode reader 4B, and can also detect the pattern on carton 1. Here, the area where color is detected by the color sensor 4A (hereinafter referred to as the "color area") and the area where patterns are detected by the camera 4C (hereinafter referred to as the "pattern area") are set to be different regions. Furthermore, the color area is set to be larger than the pattern area.

[0047] The color sensors 4A and cameras 4C exemplified here are arranged in a row of five, the same number as the number of cartons 1 that make up the carton group. More specifically, the color sensors 4A and cameras 4C are positioned at locations corresponding to each of the five cartons 1 that constitute the detection target. In addition to these five color sensors 4A and cameras 4C, it is preferable to provide one more (a total of six) color sensors 4A and cameras 4C, as in this embodiment, to detect the target carton used to determine the first or second trigger condition described later.

[0048] ==Output System== The side belt 43 is a mechanism that switches between pausing the transport of carton 1 and resuming the transport of carton 1 that has been paused. A pair of side belts 43 are provided on the outside in the width direction relative to the transport path of the carton 1. They can be used to temporarily stop the transport of the carton 1 by gripping it from the outside in the width direction, and to resume the transport of the carton 1 by releasing this stop. When the transport of the carton 1 is temporarily stopped by the side belts 43, it is in a state where it is lined up and in contact with the transport direction. The section equipped with the side belt 43 can be described as a pause section that stops the transport of carton 1 if one focuses on its function of temporarily stopping carton 1, or as a release section that stops the transport of carton 1 if one focuses on its function of resuming the transport of carton 1.

[0049] The switch mechanism 44 is a mechanism that switches the transport route of carton 1, which has resumed transport via the side belt 43. In this switch mechanism 44, the transport path is selectively switched according to the inspection result of the carton 1 by the controller 41, which will be described later. If the inspection result for carton 1 is normal (no abnormalities), the transport route is switched to the main route R1. If the inspection result for carton 1 is abnormal (not normal), the transport route is switched to the secondary route R2.

[0050] The switch mechanism 44 illustrated here, when switched to the main path R1, alternately distributes the transport path of carton 1 to the first main path R11 and the second main path R12. However, a switch mechanism for switching between the main route and the secondary route, and a distribution mechanism for distributing traffic to the first main route and the second main route may be provided separately. In this case, the distribution mechanism is located downstream of the switch mechanism.

[0051] Route R1 is a transport route leading to the wrapping section P6, and the first main route R11 and the second main route R12 are provided in parallel. The side route R2 is a transport route for discharging carton 1 from the manufacturing line. The part equipped with the switch mechanism 44 can be called a switch part if we focus on its function of switching the transport path of carton 1 between the main path R1 and the side path R2. It can also be said that this part is equipped with an OK switch part that focuses on the function of switching to the main path R1 and an NG switch part that focuses on the function of switching to the side path R2. Alarm 45 is a device that notifies the operator of the inspection results for carton 1. For example, alarm 45 includes notification devices such as a buzzer, monitor, and alarm light.

[0052] == Control System == The controller 41 determines whether a predetermined trigger condition is met based on the signals input from the sensors 40, and outputs a control signal to the output system configuration according to whether the trigger condition is met. Here, we will illustrate the following three types of trigger conditions. Note that only one of the first and second trigger conditions will be adopted, depending on the pattern of the packaging 10 being manufactured. • First trigger condition: Conditions for manufacturing a multi-pattern packaging pack 10 • Second trigger condition: Conditions for manufacturing the bi-pattern packaging pack 10 • Third trigger condition: A condition to avoid mixing in face-down cartons 1.

[0053] The first or second trigger condition is determined to be met if a pre-defined target carton is detected, and not met otherwise. The "target carton" here is pre-defined to be different for each of the first and second trigger conditions. The success or failure of the first or second trigger condition is determined based on the color detected by the color sensor 4A, which detects the color of carton 1. In Figure 4, for convenience, the color sensor 4A or camera 4C (sensors 40) that detects the color of carton 1 being transported downstream of the side belt 43 is shown to distinguish it from the color sensor 4A or camera 4C (five sensors 40 shown as black dots) used to determine the success or failure of the inspection conditions described later.

[0054] Here, we present an example configuration in which the success or failure of a first trigger condition or a second trigger condition is determined based on the color detected by a color sensor 4A or camera 4C (sensors 40) that detects the color of the carton 1 within the side belt 43 (i.e., the carton 1 located between the side belts 43 is the target of detection). However, the success or failure of the first trigger condition or the second trigger condition may be determined based on the color of the carton 1 or the pattern on the carton 1, using images from the color sensor 4A or camera 4C that capture images of the carton 1 being transported upstream or downstream of the side belt 43.

[0055] As described above, the part in which the success or failure of the first or second trigger condition is determined based on the color of carton 1 can be described as a color sensing part (sensing part) that detects the target carton based on the target color, which is the color of the target carton. Furthermore, the part in which the success or failure of the first or second trigger condition is determined based on the pattern on carton 1 can also be described as a design sensing part (sensing part) that detects the target carton based on the target design, which is the pattern formed by the target carton.

[0056] If the first or second trigger condition is determined to be met, a control signal is output to temporarily suspend the transport of carton 1 to the side belt 43, and the success or failure of the inspection condition is determined. The "inspection condition" here is predetermined to be different for the condition determined when the first trigger condition is met and the condition determined when the second trigger condition is met. Furthermore, no test conditions are set to be judged after the success or failure of the third trigger condition.

[0057] The success or failure of the inspection condition is determined based on detection signals from sensors 40 that detect five cartons 1 whose transport has been temporarily stopped by the side belt 43. In other words, the cartons 1 to be detected used to determine the success or failure of the inspection condition are located within the side belt 43 (i.e., inside the side belt 43). However, the cartons 1 to be detected used to determine the success or failure of the inspection condition may be located at any location upstream or downstream of the side belt 43. Here, we give an example in which the success or failure of the inspection condition is determined based on the image captured by the camera 4C. In this image judgment, a predetermined arrangement is determined based on the order of the colors of the five cartons 1 or the order of the patterns or images.

[0058] However, the success or failure of the inspection conditions may be determined based on the detected color of each of the five cartons 1 whose transport is temporarily stopped by the side belt 43, as detected by the color sensor 4A. For example, when the first trigger condition or the second trigger condition is determined to be met, the color of each of the five color sensors 4A is detected while the carton 1 to be detected moves by one unit (the transport direction dimension of the carton 1). The detection of the color of the carton 1 by the five color sensors 4A may be performed simultaneously, or at different timings in some (one to four locations) or all (five locations).

[0059] As described above, the part in which the success or failure of the inspection conditions is determined based on the color of carton 1 can be called a color check part (check part) that checks whether the cartons are in the predetermined order based on their colors. Furthermore, the part in which the success or failure of the inspection conditions is determined based on the design of carton 1 can also be called a design check part (check part) or image check part (check part), which checks whether the design or image of carton 1 is in the predetermined order. In Figure 4, an example of a location for detecting the color of the object being inspected is shown as a black dot, and the codes of the color sensor 4A and camera 4C, which detect the color, pattern, or image used to determine the success or failure of the inspection conditions, are shown by extracting them from only one of the black dots.

[0060] Once the success or failure of the inspection conditions is determined, a control signal is output to the side belt 43 to resume the transport of carton 1. If the inspection conditions are determined to be met, a control signal is output to the switch mechanism 44 to switch the transport path to the main path R1. On the other hand, if the inspection conditions are determined to be unmet, a control signal is output to the switch mechanism 44 to switch the transport path to the side path R2.

[0061] Furthermore, when the third trigger condition is determined to be met, a control signal is output to the switch mechanism 44 to switch the transport path to the side path R2, even if the inspection condition has been determined to be met. Even if the inspection condition is determined to be unmet when the third trigger condition is determined to be met, a control signal is output to the switch mechanism 44 to switch the transport path to the side path R2. In other words, the third trigger condition takes precedence over the inspection condition as a condition for switching the transport path to the side path R2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the third trigger condition is not met, and if the inspection condition is determined to be met, a control signal is output to the switch mechanism 44 to switch the transport path to the main path R1.

[0062] The inspection condition, which is determined when the first or second trigger condition is met, is judged to be normal if it is met, and abnormal if it is not met. On the other hand, if the third trigger condition is met, it is determined that there is an inverted carton 1 (hereinafter referred to as "error carton") mixed in and that this is abnormal; if it is not met, it is determined that there is no inverted carton 1 mixed in and that this is normal.

[0063] In other words, if the first or second trigger condition is met AND the third trigger condition is not met (AND condition), then the order is as specified, no error cartons are mixed in, and carton 1 is deemed to be compliant in inspection part 4P. On the other hand, if the first or second trigger condition is not met, or the third trigger condition is met (OR condition), it means that either the order is not predetermined or there are error cartons mixed in, and in inspection part 4P, carton 1 is deemed non-compliant (non-compliant). A control signal is output to alarm 45 according to the above judgment result. For example, when an abnormality is detected in carton 1, a control signal is output to activate the buzzer or alarm light of alarm 45, or a control signal is output to display the judgment result for carton 1 on the monitor of alarm 45.

[0064] --First Trigger Condition-- The first trigger condition, "Target Carton," is a pre-set carton 1 from the carton group. A specific example of a target carton is a carton 1 in the carton group that has a color that is highly detectable by the color sensor 4A, such as the darkest or most distinct color among the colors A, B, C, D, and E of carton 1. Another specific example of a target carton is the carton 1 furthest downstream in the carton group (carton 1 of color A, carton 1 placed at the top of the packaging pack 10). In the example shown here, the first trigger condition is determined to be met if the target carton is detected by the color sensor 4A, which detects carton 1 within the side belt 43; otherwise, the first trigger condition is determined to be not met.

[0065] The inspection condition determined when the first trigger condition is met (hereinafter referred to as the "first inspection condition") is determined to be met if the arrangement of the five cartons, including the target carton, is in a predetermined order, and not met otherwise. The "predetermined order" referred to here is a pattern that has been set in advance as the order of the multi-pattern arrangement, and is a pattern in the order of "color A, color B, color C, color D, color E". To give a specific example, if carton 1 of color A is set as the target carton, the success or failure of the first inspection condition is determined by checking whether carton 1 of color A, which is located furthest downstream, and the four cartons 1 upstream of it are in the predetermined order.

[0066] --Second Trigger Condition-- The second trigger condition is that the "target carton" is one of two (or more) cartons lined up in the direction of transport. In other words, the "target carton" for the second trigger condition is a set of cartons that form a predetermined pattern based on the combination of appearances of adjacent cartons. The "predetermined pattern" here is a pre-set pattern in which the bi-pattern is a continuous sequence of colors that does not exist in any single carton group.

[0067] Specifically, a pattern consisting of two cartons 1 of color A side by side is set as the "predetermined pattern," and these two cartons 1 are set as the "target cartons." However, from the standpoint of improving inspection accuracy, a pattern in which two or more cartons 1 are arranged may be set as a "predetermined pattern." An example of such a setting is when three cartons 1 are set as the "target carton," and the predetermined pattern formed by these three cartons 1 in the target carton may be a pattern in the order of "color A, color A, color B" or a pattern in the order of "color B, color A, color A." However, in order to simplify the configuration, a single carton 1 consisting of color A or color B may be set as the target carton used to determine the success or failure of the second trigger condition. Here, the second trigger condition is determined to be met if the target carton 1 within the side belt 43 is detected by the color sensor 4A, and if not, the second trigger condition is determined to be not met.

[0068] The inspection condition determined when the second trigger condition is met (hereinafter referred to as the "second inspection condition") is determined to be met if the arrangement of the five cartons, including the target carton, is in a predetermined order, and not met otherwise. The "predetermined order" referred to here is a pattern that has been set in advance as the order of the bi-pattern, and is a pattern in the order of "color A, color B, color A, color B, color A". For example, a pattern is set in the target carton where two cartons of color A are placed side by side. The success or failure of the second inspection condition is determined by checking whether one of these cartons 1 on the downstream side and the four cartons 1 further downstream are in the predetermined order. Alternatively, a pattern is set in the target carton where two cartons 1 of color A are placed side by side. The success or failure of the second inspection condition is determined by checking whether one of these cartons 1 on the upstream side and the four cartons 1 further upstream are in the predetermined order.

[0069] --Third Trigger Condition-- The third trigger condition is determined to be true if the presence of error cartons is detected, and false otherwise. In this case, since the barcode on the bottom wall 1B of the error carton is exposed on the top surface of carton 1, the third trigger condition is determined to be met if the barcode is detected by the barcode reader 4B, and not met if the barcode is not detected. However, if it is possible to detect the appearance unique to the bottom wall 1B of carton 1, sensors 40 such as a color sensor 4A that detects a color (appearance) unique to the bottom wall 1B, or a camera 4C or other sensor that detects a pattern (appearance) unique to the bottom wall 1B may be used instead of a barcode reader 4B. In this way, in order to identify the bottom wall 1B, the sensors 40 may detect appearances such as colors or patterns that are present in the bottom wall 1B but not in the top wall 1B (walls other than the bottom wall 1B), or the sensors 40 may detect appearances such as colors or patterns that are not present in the bottom wall 1B but are present in the top wall 1B (walls other than the bottom wall 1B) (i.e., detect appearances that are not present in the bottom wall 1B).

[0070] --others-- When the first or second trigger condition is determined to be met and the arrangement of carton 1 is deemed normal (the first or second inspection condition is determined to be met), a control signal is output to the side belt 43 to restart the transport of only the cartons 1 whose arrangement has been determined to be normal (i.e., only the number of cartons 1 that can be combined into one pack of packaging 10).

[0071] Regarding the resumption of the transport of carton 1 by the side belt 43, it is preferable to count the number of carton 1 that have resumed transport using appropriate sensors in order to stabilize the number of carton 1 that have resumed transport. Alternatively, the driving time of the side belt 43 when transport has resumed (i.e., the time it takes to feed carton 1 downstream from the side belt 43) may be set in advance to a predetermined period. The "predetermined period" here refers to a driving time set in advance to feed an arbitrary number of cartons, such as the period for feeding out the number of cartons 1 that can be packed into one pack of packaging bodies 10, or a period that is an integer multiple of this period. When the side belt 43 is driven for such a predetermined period, it is preferable to detect the transport direction position of the downstreammost (leading) carton 1 among the five (multiple) stopped cartons 1 using appropriate sensors in order to stabilize the number of cartons 1 that resume transport. For example, when it is detected that the downstreammost carton 1 among the stopped cartons 1 is located slightly upstream of the predetermined position, it is preferable to set the predetermined period to be slightly longer, and when it is detected that it is located slightly downstream of the predetermined position, it is preferable to set the predetermined period to be slightly shorter.

[0072] If the number of cartons 1 whose transport has resumed is counted by appropriate sensors, compared to driving the side belt 43 only for a predetermined period, it is possible to suppress, for example, the slippage of cartons 1 whose transport should be temporarily stopped by the side belt 43 to the downstream side, and stabilize the number of cartons 1 whose transport has resumed. On the other hand, if the side belt 43 is driven only for a predetermined period, compared to driving the number of cartons 1 whose transport has resumed being counted by appropriate sensors, it is possible to stabilize the number of cartons 1 whose transport has resumed with a simpler configuration that minimizes the need to add sensors or control logic. As described above, the part that resumes the transport of carton 1 can be described as a counting part that counts multiple carton 1s (any number depending on the predetermined period), such as the number of items that can be packed into one pack of 10 or an integer multiple of this number. It can also be described as a sorting part that divides carton 1 according to the number of items counted in the counting part.

[0073] In this sorting section, the transport of carton 1 is stopped for every number of units counted in the counting section (in this case, five units), and then the transport of these stopped cartons 1 is resumed. The carton groups, each consisting of the number of units counted in the counting section, are then sorted with spacing between them. Specifically, the five cartons sorted in the sorting section are sorted with spacing between them and the five cartons sorted immediately after (or immediately before) them.

[0074] Alternatively, a method may be adopted in which cartons 1 whose transport has resumed by the side belt 43 are detected by sensors 40, and cartons 1 are counted based on this detection result. Specifically, a method can be adopted in which a barcode reader 4B (sensors 40 that sequentially scan the barcode of each carton 1 that is not turned over) is installed to detect cartons 1 from below, and the number of cartons 1 is counted according to the number of barcodes scanned by the barcode reader 4B. Similarly, a method can be adopted in which the number of cartons 1 is counted according to the number of marks (designs of each carton 1) captured by the camera 4C.

[0075] On the other hand, if the first or second trigger condition is determined to be met but the arrangement of carton 1 is determined to be abnormal (i.e., the first or second inspection condition is not met), a control signal is output to discharge carton 1 from the production line until the first or second trigger condition is met. Specifically, a control signal to restart the transport of carton 1 is output to the side belt 43, and a control signal to switch the transport path to the side path R2 is output to the switch mechanism 44. Furthermore, if the first or second trigger condition is determined to be met, but the order of the contents of carton 1 is determined to be abnormal (i.e., the first or second inspection condition is determined to be met), the success or failure determination of the third trigger condition, which is performed afterward, is omitted in order to conserve control processing resources.

[0076] <Parallel part> In parallel section P5, the transport path is switched to main path R1 by the switch mechanism 44, and then the transport is resumed to main path R1 downstream of the switch mechanism 44. Each of the five cartons 1 (cartons divided into predetermined numbers) is transported in parallel on the first main path R11 and the second main path R12, which are alternately assigned to each carton. The cartons 1 transported on each of the main paths R11 and R12 in parallel section P5 are continuously transported toward the wrapping section.

[0077] <Wrapping Part> In wrapping section P6, cartons 1 containing bundles of tissue paper 3 are arranged in a predetermined order, and these cartons are packaged as a single pack. In wrapping section P6, similar to parallel section P5, the cartons 1 are arranged in parallel, and each of the five cartons 1 is wrapped with wrapping material 19. In this way, the packaging pack 10 is manufactured.

[0078] [1-3. Manufacturing method] Next, a method for manufacturing the packaging pack 10 will be described. In this manufacturing method, a wrapping process is carried out in the wrapping part P6 in which a group of cartons, each consisting of five cartons 1 arranged in a predetermined order, are packaged as a single pack, and the cartons 1 are continuously transported toward this wrapping process.

[0079] Here, we will explain using examples focusing on the material preparation method carried out in material preparation part P2 and the carton inspection method carried out in inspection part P4. In these methods, as part of the manufacturing equipment configuration in item [1-2], the process is carried out in each of the above-mentioned parts, with the "part" in the name replaced by the process. For example, in the material preparation method, the deposit process is performed in deposit part 21 before the stacking process is performed in stack part 22, and in the carton inspection method, the sensing process is performed in the sensing part before the checking process is performed in the checking part.

[0080] <Material preparation method> The material preparation method is a method for preparing the materials 1' for carton 1, which will be continuously transported toward the wrapping process. In this material preparation method, as shown in Figure 6, each step is carried out in the following order: deposit process (step A1), stacking process (step A2), storage process (step A3), and feeding process (step A4). After these steps are completed, the cartoning process is carried out.

[0081] In the deposit process, materials 1' corresponding to each carton 1 that make up the carton group of the packaging pack 10 are stacked, and the materials 1' are arranged in a predetermined order along the transport direction. In the stacking process, the materials 1' stacked in each of the deposit processes are unfurled one by one in the transport direction, and the materials 1' unfurled from the downstream side are superimposed on the materials 1' unfurled from the upstream side in the deposit process. In the storage process, the material assemblies, which are material 1' stacked in the stacking process, are stacked on top of each other. In this storage process, the material assemblies are stacked on top of each other. In the feeding process, the material sets that were stacked in the storage process are fed out towards the wrapping process. In this feeding process, each material 1' that makes up the material set is fed out one by one from the bottom.

[0082] <Carton Inspection Method> The carton inspection method is a method of inspecting cartons 1 as they are continuously transported toward the wrapping process. In this carton inspection method, as shown in Figure 7, the first sensing process (step B1) is performed, followed by the pausing process (step B2), checking process (step B3), and release process (steps B4, B5) in that order. After that, a switching process (steps B8, B9) is performed to switch the transport path according to the determination result (inspection result) of the arrangement of carton 1. If the arrangement of carton 1 is determined to be normal, the second sensing process (step B6) is performed before the switching process (step B8). On the other hand, if the arrangement of carton 1 is determined to be abnormal or if carton 1 is detected to be upside down, the first sensing process (step B10) is performed again after the alarm process (step B7) and the switching process (step B9). After the switching process is performed after the arrangement of carton 1 is determined to be normal, the sorting process and parallel process are performed toward the wrapping process.

[0083] In the first sensing step, it is determined whether or not the target carton has been detected in the transported carton 1 (i.e., whether the trigger condition has been met). In the method for manufacturing a multi-pattern packaging pack 10, one pre-set carton 1 from a group of cartons is set as the target carton, and the success or failure of the first trigger condition is determined. In the method for manufacturing a bi-pattern packaging pack 10, two (or more) cartons 1 aligned in the direction of transport are set as target cartons in the transported carton 1, and the success or failure of the second trigger condition is determined.

[0084] In determining whether the first or second trigger condition is met, a color sensing process or a design sensing process is performed. In the color sensing process, the target carton is detected based on the target color, which is the color of the target carton. In the design sensing process, the target carton is detected based on the target design, which is the pattern of the target carton. In the pause process, when a target carton is detected in the sensing process described above (i.e., the trigger condition is determined to be met), the transport of carton 1 is stopped. In this pause process, the transport of five cartons 1, including at least one target carton, is stopped.

[0085] In the checking process, the order of the five cartons 1 that were stopped in the pausing process is checked to determine whether they are in the predetermined order (determining whether the inspection conditions are met). When a target carton is detected in the sensing process described above, the order of the five cartons 1 that include at least one of the target cartons is checked to determine whether they are in the predetermined order. In the method for manufacturing a multi-pattern packaging pack 10, the arrangement of the cartons 1 to be inspected is checked to determine whether it corresponds to the multi-pattern arrangement, and the success or failure of the first inspection condition is determined. In the method for manufacturing a bi-pattern packaging pack 10, the arrangement of the cartons 1 to be inspected is checked to determine whether it corresponds to the bi-pattern arrangement, and the success or failure of the second inspection condition is determined.

[0086] In determining whether the first or second inspection condition is met, a color check or image check process is performed. In the color check process, the order of the five cartons 1 is checked based on the colors they make up. In the image check process, the order of the five cartons 1 is checked based on the images taken of them.

[0087] In the release process, the suspension of transport due to the pause process is lifted, and transport of carton 1, whose arrangement order has been inspected in the check process (products that meet the inspection conditions are determined), is resumed. In this release process, when the transport of carton 1 is resumed, a counting process is performed to count multiple cartons 1 by driving the side belt 43 for a predetermined period of time or by counting the cartons 1 whose transport has resumed based on the results detected by the sensors 40. When the counting process is performed, a sorting process may also be performed to separate cartons 1 according to the number counted in the counting process. In this sorting process, the transport of carton 1 is stopped for each number counted in the counting process (in this case, five), then the transport of the stopped cartons 1 is resumed, and the carton groups consisting of cartons 1 according to the number counted in the counting process are separated by spacing. The second sensing process is performed after the predetermined order has been checked and the inspection conditions have been determined to be met in the check process, and then after going through the release process described above.

[0088] In the second sensing step, an overturned error carton is detected in the transported carton 1 (determining whether the third trigger condition is met). If a barcode reader 4B is used to detect the error carton, it scans the back of carton 1 for a specific appearance to detect the error carton. If a camera 4C is used to detect the error carton, it detects the error carton from an image of the back of carton 1. Furthermore, if the inspection conditions are not met during the checking process, the second sensing process is not performed, and the alarm process, which will be explained next, is performed instead.

[0089] In the alarm process, if the order of the cartons in carton 1 is found to be different from the predetermined order during the check process, or if an error carton is detected during the second sensing process, the alarm 45 will notify of the non-conformity, such as the abnormal inspection result or the detection of an error carton. Furthermore, the alarm process can be executed at any time after the success or failure of the inspection conditions has been determined by the check process and after the success or failure of the third trigger condition has been determined by the second sensing process.

[0090] In the switching process, the transport path of carton 1 that has been detected by the sensing process is switched, and in this case, the transport path of carton 1 whose transport has been resumed in the release process is switched. In this switching process, either the OK switching process (step B8) or the NG switching process (step B9) is performed depending on the inspection results of the check process and the detection results of the second sensing process. If the check process confirms that the order of the cartons in carton 1 is the predetermined order, and no error cartons are detected in the second sensing process (i.e., the inspection is successful), the OK switch process is performed. In the OK switch process, the transport path is switched to the main path R1.

[0091] If the order of carton 1 is not checked to be in the predetermined order during the checking process, or if an error carton is detected in the second sensing process (i.e., if it does not meet the inspection requirements), the NG switch process is performed. For example, in the NG switch process, the transport path for at least five cartons 1, including the error carton detected in the second sensing process, is switched to the side path R2. After the NG switch process, the first sensing process is performed again to determine whether or not the target carton was detected.

[0092] Until the target carton is detected (negative determination in step B10), the transport of carton 1 discharged through the side path R2 is not stopped (steps B5, B9), and notification by alarm 45 continues (step B7). In other words, if the arrangement of carton 1 is determined to be abnormal, carton 1 continues to be discharged from the production line until the target carton is detected by the success or failure determination of the first or second trigger condition. When the target carton is detected (positive judgment in step B10), the pause process (step B2) is performed again to stop the transport of carton 1. In other words, if the target carton is detected after it has been determined that the arrangement of carton 1 is abnormal, the transport is temporarily stopped and the arrangement of carton 1 and the presence of error cartons are inspected.

[0093] In the sorting process, which is carried out after the OK switch process, the cartons 1 that are being transported in series are sorted so that they are transported along two (or more) paths. In the parallel process, the cartons 1 sorted in the sorting process are transported to the wrapping process, which is carried out in parallel. In this way, in the wrapping process, five cartons 1 are packaged in units of one pack, and a packaged pack body 10 is manufactured.

[0094] [2. Action and Effects] Since this embodiment is configured as described above, the following actions and effects can be obtained. This section [2] describes the material preparation method in subsection [2-1], the carton sorting and carton distribution method in subsection [2-2], and the carton inspection method in subsection [2-3].

[0095] [2-1. Material Preparation Method] (1) According to the material preparation method, in the deposit process, the materials 1' corresponding to each carton 1 of the packaging pack 10 are stacked and arranged in a predetermined order along the transport direction. Then, in the stacking process, the materials 1' dispensed one by one from the upstream side are stacked one by one with the materials 1' dispensed from the downstream side. Therefore, the materials 1' for carton 1 can be prepared in the order corresponding to the predetermined order. Therefore, the materials 1' in carton 1 can be efficiently prepared in the order corresponding to the predetermined arrangement.

[0096] (2) Since the material assemblies, which are materials 1' stacked in the stacking process, are stacked in the store process, the materials 1' can be stacked in an order corresponding to a predetermined arrangement. As a result, the space required to supply these materials 1' is reduced compared to when the materials 1' (material assemblies) are arranged in a line in the direction of transport, contributing to space saving. (3) In the storage process, the stack of materials arranged on top of each other is fed out one by one from the bottom in the feeding process, which prepares the materials for the wrapping process. This first-in, first-out method allows for the continuous feeding (preparation) of materials 1' in the order corresponding to a predetermined arrangement. This, in turn, contributes to improving the manufacturing efficiency of the packaging pack 10.

[0097] [2-2. Carton sorting method and carton distribution method] (1) According to the carton sorting method, five (a predetermined number) cartons 1 that are bundled into one pack of packaging 10 are counted in the counting process, and the cartons 1 counted in the counting process are sorted into groups of five in the sorting process. Specifically, after stopping the transport of cartons 1 for every five counted in the counting process, the transport of the five cartons 1 that were stopped is restarted, and the carton groups consisting of five cartons 1 are sorted with spacing between them. As a result, the carton groups sorted into groups of five cartons 1 are transported to the wrapping process, and the sorting accuracy of cartons 1 in the sorting process can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to increase the efficiency of packaging five cartons into one pack.

[0098] (2) According to the carton sorting method, the cartons 1 sorted in the sorting process are transported to each of the wrapping processes in a parallel process. Therefore, even if the upstream transport speed (processing speed) upstream of the sorting process is faster than the downstream transport speed (processing speed) downstream of the sorting process, a decrease in the processing speed in the upstream process can be suppressed. In other words, it is possible to avoid the downstream transport speed becoming the rate-limiting factor in the production of the packaging pack 10. Therefore, the efficiency of packaging five cartons into one pack can be increased. This efficiency can be further improved by using the above-mentioned carton sorting method in conjunction with the carton distribution method.

[0099] [2-3. Carton Inspection Method] This section [2-3] describes how to check the order of the contents of carton 1, and then how to check the orientation of carton 1. <Carton arrangement order> (1) According to the carton inspection method for inspecting the arrangement of cartons 1, the check step inspects whether the arrangement of cartons 1 to be transported to the wrapping process is in a predetermined order. If it is inspected to be in the predetermined order, the OK switch step switches the transport route of cartons 1 to the main route R1, and if it is inspected to be not in the predetermined order, the NG switch step switches the transport route of cartons 1 to the side route R2.

[0100] Therefore, cartons 1 that are not in the predetermined order can be discharged from the production line, and cartons 1 that are in the predetermined order can be transported to the wrapping process. In this way, by suppressing the mixing of cartons 1 that are not in the predetermined order in the packaging pack 10, cartons 1 in the predetermined order can be packaged in a single pack. As described above, when the transport path is switched to the side path R2 by the NG switch process, carton 1 is transported along the side path R2 and discharged. Therefore, compared to the technology of removing (discharging) cartons from the production line by knocking them off, damage to the discharged carton 1 can be reduced. Furthermore, the discharged carton 1 can be used in the packaging pack 10.

[0101] Furthermore, upon detection of the target carton, the transport of the five cartons 1, including the target carton, is stopped in the Bose process, and then the transport stop is released in the release process, resuming the transport of the five cartons 1. Therefore, the cartons 1 transported downstream of the release process are divided into groups of five. Therefore, it is possible to improve the efficiency of packaging the cartons, which are separated into groups of five cartons, into a single pack by transporting the carton groups to the wrapping process. (2) In the checking process, the order of the five cartons 1 whose transport has been stopped by the pausing process is inspected, thus improving the inspection accuracy compared to the technique of inspecting the order of cartons 1 while they are being transported.

[0102] (3) If one carton 1 from the carton group is pre-set as the target carton, it is possible to prevent carton 1 from being mixed in with the multi-pattern packaging pack 10 in an order other than the predetermined order. By setting only one carton 1 as the target carton in this way, the predetermined order can be checked with a simple logic. Furthermore, if two cartons 1 aligned in the transport direction are pre-set as target cartons, it is possible to suppress the inclusion of cartons 1 in a non-predetermined order in the bi-pattern packaging pack 10. Setting a pattern of combined carton 1 appearances as the target carton contributes to improving the accuracy of inspecting the predetermined order.

[0103] (4) When the detection of a target carton is based on the target color of the target carton, or when the inspection of whether or not the cartons are in a predetermined order is based on the colors of the five cartons 1, a color sensor 4A can be used, which has lower equipment costs and simpler control logic than camera 4C. (5) When the detection of a target carton is based on the target design which is the pattern of the target carton, or when the inspection of whether or not the items are in a predetermined order is based on the patterns of the five cartons, it is possible to inspect cases where each carton, which forms a mono-patterned packaging pack of the same color, has a different pattern.

[0104] (6) When the inspection of whether the five cartons are in a predetermined order during the checking process is based on the colors and patterns of the five cartons 1 (i.e., when the color check process and the design check process are used in combination), the accuracy of inspecting the order of the cartons 1 is improved by inspecting both the color and pattern of the cartons 1. Furthermore, by setting the color area and the pattern area to different regions, it is possible to ensure both the accuracy of inspection based on the color of carton 1 and the accuracy of inspection based on the pattern of carton 1, thereby enabling further improvement in the accuracy of inspecting the order of carton 1. By setting the color area larger than the pattern area, both color-based and pattern-based inspection accuracy are ensured, thereby further improving inspection accuracy.

[0105] <Carton orientation> (1) According to the carton inspection method for inspecting whether carton 1 is turned over, if an error carton, which is an overturned carton 1, is detected in the sensing process, the transport path of carton 1 including the error carton is switched to the side path R2 in the NG switch process. On the other hand, if no error carton is detected in the sensing process, the transport path is switched to the main path R1 in the OK switch process. Therefore, the inverted error cartons can be discharged from the production line, and only the upright cartons 1 can be transported to the wrapping process. In this way, by preventing the mixing of cartons 1 with different orientations in the packaging pack 10, it is possible to package cartons 1 with the same orientation in a single pack.

[0106] (2) In the sensing process for detecting error cartons, if a barcode reader 4B is used, it is possible to detect error cartons by scanning the distinctive appearance on the back of carton 1, and if a camera 4C is used, it is possible to detect error cartons from the image captured of the appearance on the back of carton 1. If barcode detection by barcode reader 4B is more stable or accurate than visual detection by camera 4C, then using barcode reader 4B to detect error cartons can improve detection accuracy and stability. On the other hand, using camera 4C to detect error cartons makes it possible to detect when carton 1, which does not have a barcode on the back, is turned over.

[0107] [2-4. Others] According to this manufacturing method, since the material preparation method prepares material 1' in an order corresponding to a predetermined arrangement, by using the material preparation method and the carton inspection method in combination, the inclusion of cartons 1 that are not in the predetermined arrangement can be further suppressed. Since the materials 1' are prepared efficiently by the material preparation method, the manufacturing efficiency of the packaging pack 10 can be further increased by using the material preparation method and the carton sorting method in combination. Furthermore, the manufacturing efficiency of the packaging pack 10 can be further increased by using the carton distribution method in combination as well. Furthermore, the above-mentioned functions and effects can also be obtained with this manufacturing apparatus.

[0108] [II. Variant Examples] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications or applications of techniques not explicitly stated in these embodiments. Each configuration of these embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from their spirit. Furthermore, they can be selected and combined as needed.

[0109] For example, in the manufacturing of bi-pattern packaging packs, if the second trigger condition is determined to be met but the carton arrangement is determined to be abnormal (the second inspection condition is determined to be not met), it is not necessary to discharge all cartons that were determined to have an abnormal arrangement. Specifically, the transport of only the four downstream cartons out of the five that were determined to have an abnormal arrangement may be resumed and discharged from the production line, and the arrangement of the four cartons upstream of these, including the remaining carton, may be inspected again. It is preferable that the inspection of the four cartons, with the remaining carton being the most upstream, is repeated until a "quasi-predetermined arrangement" is achieved, excluding the most downstream carton in the predetermined arrangement. In this case, the four cartons are discharged sequentially from the side path until the quasi-pretermined arrangement is inspected, and once the quasi-pretermined arrangement is inspected and the predetermined arrangement is also inspected, the five cartons are transported to the main path. To elaborate, if the number of cartons forming a packaging pack is "X" (5 in the above example, a predetermined number), and "Y" is a natural number smaller than "X" (4 in the above example), then "X" cartons, including the "XY" cartons downstream from the "X" cartons that have been determined to have an abnormal arrangement, may be inspected again. In such an inspection method, in order to suppress a chain reaction of misalignment when abnormally arranged cartons are mixed together, it is preferable that "Y" is odd when "X" is odd, and it is also preferable that "X" and "Y" are relatively prime.

[0110] Furthermore, in the manufacturing of bi-pattern packaging packs, if the downstreammost carton in a carton group (the carton of color A in the example above) is missing, the success or failure of the second inspection condition is determined, and after inspecting the arrangement of the five cartons, the target carton, which includes the downstreammost carton in the carton group, will be found to be missing. Consequently, the second trigger condition is not met, and more cartons than the number of cartons forming the carton group are transported downstream without being stopped by the side belt. In such cases, in the sorting part (sorting process), based on a predetermined transport direction dimension set in advance as the dimension of the cartons forming the number of cartons in the carton group and the transport direction dimension of the actually separated cartons, any cartons whose transport direction dimension deviates from the predetermined transport direction dimension are discharged from the system. For example, it is preferable that a block of cartons whose transport direction dimension of the actually separated cartons is less than the predetermined transport direction dimension (i.e., inappropriately sized) is discharged from the manufacturing line.

[0111] Here, we will describe two examples of inspection flows in which, regarding the manufacturing of bi-pattern packaging packs, one carton with color A is set as the target carton used to determine the success or failure of the second trigger condition. In one example of the inspection flow, the cartons to be inspected are arranged in the following pattern X1. This pattern X1 is an inspection target in which an extra carton 1 (color B) is mixed in between two bi-patterns. • Pattern X1: From downstream to upstream "Color A, Color B, Color A, Color B, Color A, Color B, The pattern is arranged in the order of "color A, color B, color A, color B, color A." When inspecting cartons of pattern X1, the five cartons downstream form a bi-pattern arrangement, thus fulfilling the second inspection condition. From there, carton transport continues until the second trigger condition is determined to be met (in this case, the seventh carton from the downstream side, including the most downstream carton of pattern X1, is detected). At this time, not only the five cartons inspected by the success or failure of the second inspection condition, but also the sixth carton from the downstream side (the extra carton mentioned above), including the most downstream carton of pattern X1, are transported downstream beyond the side belt without being stopped by it. Therefore, it is preferable to count the number of cartons that have resumed transport downstream from the side belt between the determination of the second inspection condition and the determination of the second trigger condition using appropriate sensors, and to transport only the number of cartons that make up the carton group (five in this case) from the most downstream side to the main path, while discharging the cartons upstream (the extra carton of color B in this case) from the system. In other words, it is preferable to check the number of cartons transported from the side belt to the main path by counting them with appropriate sensors or by calculating based on the transport speed. This inspection flow prevents the sixth carton from being mixed in with the downstream side of the side belt, including the downstreammost carton of pattern X1.

[0112] In another example of the inspection flow, cartons arranged in the pattern X2 shown below are to be inspected. In this pattern X2, the pattern downstream is the one to be inspected if it is defective. Pattern X2: From downstream to upstream "Color A, Color B, Color A, Color B, Color B, The pattern is arranged in the order of "color A, color B, color A, color B, color A." When inspecting cartons of pattern X2, the second inspection condition is not met because the five cartons downstream do not form a bi-pattern arrangement. Carton transport then resumes until the second trigger condition is determined to be met. When the second inspection condition is not met in this way, it is preferable to determine whether the second trigger condition is met by determining whether the upstreammost carton among the five cartons inspected in the second inspection condition determination (in this case, the fifth carton from the downstream side, including the downstreammost carton of pattern X2) is color A. If it is determined that the carton is not color A (the second trigger condition is not met), it is preferable to sequentially target cut the cartons immediately downstream (in this case, the sixth carton from the downstream side, including the downstreammost carton of pattern X2) to determine whether the second trigger condition is met. In this example, the second trigger condition is not met when the fifth carton from the downstream side, including the downstreammost carton of pattern X2, is detected, and the second trigger condition is met when the sixth carton from the downstream side, including the downstreammost carton of pattern X2, is detected. In this example as well, it is preferable to check the number of cartons being transported downstream from the side belt by counting them with appropriate sensors or by calculating the number based on the transport speed. This inspection flow helps to reduce the number of cartons discharged from the system even when the downstream carton in a group of cartons is missing, thereby improving inspection efficiency.

[0113] Alternatively, if the target carton that should be upstream of the carton group in which the first or second inspection condition has been determined to be met does not exist, the first or second trigger condition, which should be met immediately after the first or second inspection condition is met, will not be determined to be met. When such a failure to meet the trigger condition is determined, it leads to a malfunction in which carton groups that are not in the predetermined order are transported along the main path. Therefore, after it is determined that the first or second inspection condition has been met, it is preferable to implement a switch process (providing a switch part) to transport the cartons in the carton group along the main path until it is determined that the first or second trigger condition has been met again, and to transport the cartons upstream of these cartons along the side path for discharge. This switching of the transport path by such a switch process can be performed based on the detection results of sensors that detect cartons whose transport has been resumed. Specifically, sensors detect each carton whose transport has been resumed from the side belt, calculate the transport speed of the carton from this detection result, and transport the cartons in the carton group along the main path according to the calculated transport speed. Then, the path is switched so that the cartons thereafter are transported along the side path.

[0114] The timing for detecting an overturned carton (determining the success or failure of the third trigger condition, sensing process) may be in parallel with the check process when the transport of the carton is temporarily stopped, or it may be performed in series with the check process after the temporary stop is lifted and transport resumes. Detecting an overturned carton is not limited to detecting the presence of a barcode on the top surface of the carton from above with a barcode reader; it may also be done by detecting the absence of a barcode on the bottom surface of the carton from below with a barcode reader or camera, or by detecting the presence of a distinctive color or pattern on the bottom surface of the carton from below with a color sensor or camera. Furthermore, it is possible to detect inverted cartons before the inspection process is carried out, even before the carton transport is temporarily stopped. In this case, the inverted cartons can be transported to an alternative route and discharged without checking their order.

[0115] Furthermore, the check process to verify whether the cartons are arranged in a predetermined order can be performed at any time, as long as it is after the success or failure of the first or second trigger condition has been determined and before the switch process is executed. For example, the check process may be performed before or after the temporary halt in the transport of the cartons. To give a specific example, the inspection conditions in the check process may be determined after the success or failure of the first or second trigger condition has been determined, the transport of the cartons may be temporarily stopped by the side belt, and then the success or failure may be determined after the transport of the cartons has been resumed by the side belt. By determining the success or failure of the inspection conditions at such a timing, even if the cartons whose transport has been temporarily stopped by the side belt move upstream from the position where they can be detected by the sensors used to determine the success or failure of the inspection conditions, the inspection conditions can still be determined when the transported cartons pass the position where they can be detected by the sensors used to determine the success or failure of the inspection conditions.

[0116] The sensors used in the first sensing and checking processes are not limited to the configuration exemplified in one embodiment, where one color sensor is used in the first sensing process and five color sensors are used in the checking process (a configuration using a total of six color sensors). To give a specific example, at least one of the five color sensors used in the checking process may be used in the first sensing process (a configuration using a total of five color sensors). In other words, at least some of the multiple sensors may be assigned the functions of detecting the target carton and checking whether the cartons are in a predetermined order. By using at least some of the sensors in the first sensing and checking processes in this way, the order of the cartons can be checked with a simple configuration while suppressing a decrease in detection accuracy.

[0117] Furthermore, at least one of the inverted cartons and the order of the cartons may be inspected, and either the first sensing step and the checking step or the second sensing step may be omitted. Alternatively, a pause step may be performed to stop the transport of cartons without detecting the target carton, followed by a check step to inspect whether the cartons are arranged in a predetermined order, and a second sensing step to detect if the cartons are upside down. In this case, the check step may include, for example, a color check step or an image check step, and an alarm step may be performed to notify if the cartons are not in the predetermined order. This simple carton inspection method, which does not require a release step, is suitable for manufacturing methods in which an operator manually responds according to the inspection results. When considering application to manufacturing methods in which an operator manually responds according to the inspection results, the sensing step to detect the target carton may be performed, but the release step and switch step may be omitted.

[0118] Conversely, the inspection (i.e., check) to determine whether the cartons are arranged in a predetermined order may be omitted. Instead, a pause process may be performed when a target carton is detected in the first sensing process, followed by a release process. In this case, the transport route is switched to the main route when the number of cartons whose transport has resumed in the release process matches the number of cartons forming the carton group; otherwise, the transport route is switched to an alternative route. This method assumes that the cartons are arranged in a predetermined order and is suitable for manufacturing lines dealing with cartons where inspection of the order using sensors is difficult.

[0119] In the above embodiment, cartons that are not in the predetermined order or cartons that are upside down were given as examples of defective cartons (targets for detection) in a carton group. However, in addition to the example of defective cartons, there are other types of defective cartons that should not be mixed in with a carton group. For example, examples of defective cartons include cartons of a different type (different variety) than the cartons that make up the carton group that should be packaged in one pack, cartons with shape defects such as being partially peeled or crushed, and cartons with printing defects that affect the appearance. Sensors such as sensors and cameras that detect such defective cartons may be installed, and the defective cartons detected by these sensors may be discharged from the production line.

[0120] Alternatively, the process may involve simply performing a counting step to count the number of cartons (a predetermined number) that are packaged in a single pack unit, and then performing a sorting step to separate the cartons according to that predetermined number. The number of cartons counted in the counting step and the number of cartons sorted in the sorting step are not limited to a predetermined number, but may be an integer multiple of that predetermined number. In other words, the counting step may involve counting the number of cartons to a predetermined number or an integer multiple of that predetermined number, and then performing a sorting step to separate the cartons according to that predetermined number. In this case as well, the efficiency of packaging a predetermined number of cartons in a single pack unit can be increased. In the counting and sorting processes, the accuracy of sorting and counting can be improved by using sensors that detect a predetermined number of cartons (for example, the fifth carton) or a predetermined integer multiple of a carton (for example, the tenth carton), including the downstream carton where transport has stopped, or by using sensors that detect another carton further upstream (for example, the sixth or eleventh carton).

[0121] Alternatively, the cycle for switching the transport path in the switching process is not limited to every time a carton of the quantity forming one carton group is transported, but may be every time a carton of the quantity forming multiple carton groups is transported. Specifically, for carton 1 that has been inspected to be in a predetermined order, it may be transported to the first main path for the quantity forming two carton groups (for example, 10 pieces each in this case, or 15 pieces each if there are three carton groups), and then transported to the second main path for the quantity forming two carton groups. In addition, the sorting process and the parallel process may be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0122] 1 carton 1B Bottom wall 1T outlet 1U ceiling wall 1X side wall part 1Y end wall 1′ Materials 3 tissue paper 10 packaged packs 19 Wrapping material 21 Deposit Part 22 Stack Part 23 Store apartments 24 Feedpart 31 Folding Part 32 Containment Parts 33 Sealing Part 40 Sensors 41 Controller (control device) 42 Switch mechanism 43 Side belts 44 Switch mechanism 45 Alarm 4A Color Sensor 4B Barcode Reader 4C camera (imaging device) P1 Bundle conveying section P2 Material Preparation Part P3 Carter Part P4 Inspection Part P5 Parallel Part P6 Wrapping Part R1 Main Route Route 11, First Main Route Route 12 Second Main Route R2 Side Route

Claims

1. A carton sorting method is provided in which a wrapping process is carried out in parallel for packaging a group of cartons, each containing tissue paper, into a single pack, and the cartons are sorted as they are continuously transported toward the wrapping process, A counting step of counting a predetermined period of time during which a predetermined number or an integer multiple of the predetermined number of cartons are unloaded, A sorting step in which the cartons are sorted according to the predetermined period counted in the counting step, A parallel process for transporting the carton toward each of the aforementioned wrapping processes, The system includes a sorting step which sorts the cartons being transported in series into cartons to be transported in the parallel step to each of the plurality of wrapping steps, The sorting step detects the position where the downstream carton is stopped for each predetermined period counted in the counting step, sets the predetermined period according to the position relative to the predetermined position, and resumes transporting the cartons within the predetermined period to sort them into predetermined numbers or integer multiples of the cartons, leaving a gap between them. The sorting step sorts the cartons into the predetermined number or integer multiples of the number that were sorted in the division step. A carton sorting method characterized by the following features.

2. The predetermined period is the driving time of the side belt that transports the carton. The carton sorting method according to feature 1.

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