Packaging machine, and method for producing packs

Abstract

The invention relates to a packaging machine (2) for producing packs (18). The packs (18) are each formed by at least two articles (12) that are grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank (10, 10v), and the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are provided with through-openings (14) for receiving at least one article (12), each article (12) passing through a through-opening (14) and being secured therein. The packaging machine (2) comprises at least one manipulator which is configured and correspondingly equipped so that the packaging blanks (10, 10v), during their application onto the articles (12), are pressed onto the articles (12) by means of an at least partially rolling movement sequence during which the packaging blank (10, 10v) is bowed. The invention also relates to a method for producing packs (18), in which method the packaging blanks (10, 10v), during their application onto the articles (12), are pressed onto the articles (12) by means of a manipulator by means of an at least partially rolling movement sequence during which the packaging blank (10, 10v) is bowed.

Description

[0001] Packaging machine and method for producing containers

[0002] The present invention relates to a packaging machine for producing containers, each consisting of at least two articles grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank. The invention also relates to a method for producing containers, each consisting of at least two articles grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the containers produced in this manner.

[0003] Various packaging types are available for processing, assembling, grouping, and packaging items such as beverage containers. A common method involves combining several similar items or containers into portable, relatively manageable units or packaging units. Several methods exist for combining multiple containers into larger packages, such as shrink-wrapping four, six, or even significantly more beverage containers. Producing such packages is usually essential, as they represent the most common type of packaging unit for beverage containers or PET bottles. For transport, these packages are sometimes further grouped and / or stacked in layers and palletized.

[0004] The numerous manufacturing steps involved in using shrink film as packaging material require a relatively high energy input, not least because the shrinking process of the film only occurs under increased heat. Furthermore, the film itself incurs costs for production, supply, handling, and eventual disposal, as it is no longer needed after the sale and unpacking of the items or containers. The machinery required to provide the so-called film wrapping modules and other handling stations also results in high investment costs. Finally, the provision of the shrink tunnel, in which the film wrapped around the containers is shrunk using hot air, also requires a relatively high capital investment. One alternative that can be avoided altogether is strapping.In this process, containers are connected to each other using strapping bands and grouped together to form a package. In continuously or intermittently operating strapping machines, containers, articles, or bottles are grouped into formations and then strapped with one or more bands using strapping units. Typical formations can be, for example, 1x2 arrangements (two containers in a row), 2x2 arrangements (four containers in a square or diamond formation), 3x2, 4x3, or, in principle, variable nxm arrangements.

[0005] Furthermore, various methods of using packaging blanks to form containers are known, with these packaging blanks generally consisting of pre-cut cardboard material. For example, the use of so-called top-grip carton packaging is known, which makes it possible to group several bottles together by their necks by placing these carton packages on top of the previously grouped items.

[0006] Such a gripping carton or cardboard packaging insert typically has an arrangement and number of openings that correspond to the arrangement and number of items or containers to be grouped together. The diameter of the openings is usually slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the items in the upper area where the respective opening is ultimately to be positioned. The gripping carton or packaging insert is placed onto the items and pressed down, so that a defined upper portion of the items is pushed through the openings.In particular, an upper area with a maximum diameter is pushed through the openings and the edge areas of the openings are brought into contact with the articles below this maximum diameter, so that the gripping carton packaging or the packaging blank is securely and firmly fixed to the articles.

[0007] The openings are typically each equipped with fixing or retaining tabs pointing inwards towards the center of the opening, separated from each other by star-shaped notches radiating towards the center of the opening. However, relatively high application forces may be necessary to secure the gripping carton or packaging blank to the items in this way, particularly to push the items through the openings, especially when grouping larger quantities of items together and packaging them. Accordingly, the items must be able to withstand this application force to avoid damage during the application of the gripping carton or packaging blank.

[0008] To facilitate these application processes and to prepare the packaging blank appropriately, WO 2021 / 043 362 A1 proposes a packaging device and a method for producing packaging units in which several articles are grouped together by a secondary package. The secondary package is formed by a flat packaging blank, which is applied to the prepared groupings of articles as described above. By means of a forming process, the packaging blank is transformed from a flat storage state into a three-dimensional sales state. This forming process can also include widening the edges of the openings, which can be achieved, in particular, with suitable forming equipment. Examples of such forming equipment include so-called...Breaking cones or expansion cones are proposed, the arrangement of which corresponds to the arrangement of the openings in the packaging blank.

[0009] A packaging device and a method for producing packaging units are also known from WO 2020 / 233 943 A1. This device also involves pretreating a packaging blank used as packaging material before it is pressed onto several articles to group them together. A pretreatment module is equipped with a stretching die designed to reduce the resistance forces in the edge regions of the openings of the packaging blank during the subsequent application of the packaging blank to the articles. This known stretching die also has several stretching or breaking cones arranged relative to each other in a manner that corresponds to the arrangement of the openings in the packaging blank.

[0010] All known expansion dies are format parts that, depending on the product or container configuration, or when used for differently sized products or containers, must be replaced with expansion dies adapted to the changed requirements. However, it has been found that with packaging units or containers produced in this way, high application forces are required to attach the packaging blanks to the products or containers, which is usually done by a snap-fit ​​process. This can mechanically overload sensitive products or containers and / or those with flexible housing sections. Furthermore, some of these packaging units or containers tend to exhibit shape instability, which may be related to the varying holding forces in different areas of the packaging blanks.

[0011] In order to respond to such different requirements regarding the joining of the packaging blanks to the articles or containers to be connected and / or regarding the holding forces in the packaging assembly, the primary objective of the present invention can be considered to be to reduce or completely eliminate these disadvantages and to offer an adapted packaging machine and an improved method for producing containers, so that these forces, which have a significant influence on the container quality, can be varied and / or adapted.

[0012] This objective of the invention is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Features of advantageous embodiments of the invention are also found in the respective dependent claims.

[0013] To achieve at least parts of the stated objective, the present invention proposes a packaging machine for producing containers, each of which is formed by at least two articles grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank, wherein the packaging blanks are equipped with through-openings for receiving at least one article, through which through-openings an article passes and is fixed there.

[0014] According to the invention, the packaging machine has at least one manipulator which is prepared and equipped accordingly to press the packaging blanks onto the articles during their respective application in a movement sequence that is at least partially rolling and thereby warping the packaging blank.

[0015] The packaging machine may have a control unit that can control the movements of the manipulator. Additionally, the control unit may control the movements of other elements of the packaging machine, e.g., conveyors for moving items, or similar components.

[0016] In principle, it can be advantageous to control the manipulator in such a way that it follows different movement paths during its rolling movements, i.e., when rolling the packaging blanks onto the product groups. The manipulator can, in particular, be a component of a handling robot, especially a multi-axis robot. The manipulator can be formed by the moving part of such a handling robot or multi-axis robot. Specifically, the manipulator can be formed by a multi-axis robot that receives its control commands for carrying out handling steps from the control unit, which has stored programs for several different movement paths for controlling the manipulator or a control head of the multi-axis robot.

[0017] Such handling robots can be formed, in particular, by so-called multi-axis robots, so that in the present context a (partially) synonymous use of the terms is justified. When a handling robot is mentioned, this can, in particular, be a multi-axis robot. When a multi-axis robot is mentioned, this refers to a specific type of handling robot. Furthermore, the term manipulator is used in the present description and in the claims, without necessarily meaning anything other than the realization of such a manipulator by the movable sections of a handling robot or a multi-axis robot.

[0018] The programs are dependent on the item and / or packaging. In particular, the programs and movement paths depend on the diameter and height of the items, but also on the number of items in the final packaging.

[0019] Optionally, the packaging machine according to the invention can have a pretreatment station with at least one stretch die for pretreating the packaging blanks and for weakening the packaging blanks in the area of ​​their respective openings in order to reduce the joining force when applying the packaging blanks to the article passing through the openings using the stretch die. It can be provided that the at least one manipulator of the packaging machine is prepared and equipped accordingly to press the packaging blanks onto the stretch die during their respective pretreatment using the stretch die in a movement sequence that is at least partially rolling and thereby warps the packaging blank.

[0020] The term "curving" can be understood in particular to mean that the packaging blank is bent, preferably by a difference of at least 5°, more preferably by at least 10°, wherein the angle is measured between two surfaces which are tangent to the surface of the packaging blank at two opposite ends of the packaging blank in the area of ​​its flat side.

[0021] Preferably, the packaging blank may be provided that, at least briefly before application, it has a curvature in the same direction across at least two adjacent openings. This can be understood as a curvature with the same sign.

[0022] In particular, the term "curvature" should not be understood as a minimal curvature, such as that which may occur in the prior art in the area around each passage opening at the moment when the blank is pressed on.

[0023] Preferably, the packaging blank may be curved or bent around only one axis, disregarding minimal curvature. Alternatively, the packaging blank may be bent around several axes, which are essentially parallel. Preferably, the axes, or the axis in the case of curvature during application to the articles, are arranged perpendicular to the transport direction of the articles and preferably horizontally.

[0024] According to one embodiment of the packaging machine according to the invention, the motion paths specified by the control unit via the programs stored therein can each include the rolling motions that warp the packaging blank during the pressing of the packaging blanks onto the articles and / or onto the stretch die. Optionally, the motion paths for the rolling application of the packaging blanks can be specified by a combined and / or superimposed control of at least two arm sections of the multi-axis robot; i.e., the rolling motion can be implemented by combined control of two axes of the robot with a straight and unwarped packaging blank. Alternatively, a warping deformation of the packaging blank can be specified by a corresponding control of a gripper arm of the multi-axis robot.This could mean that, in this alternative, the packaging blank can be bent directly within the robot. For such a design variant, it may be advantageous to provide a dedicated drive within the robot for this bending, deformation, or warping. The terms bending and warping can be understood synonymously in this context and within the context of the present application.

[0025] Furthermore, the packaging machine can optionally be configured to include at least two multi-axis robots that can be used with coordinated motion control. A first handling robot or manipulator is designed and equipped to remove the packaging blanks from a magazine and feed them to the stretch die. A second handling robot or manipulator is designed and equipped to pick up the pre-treated packaging blanks from the stretch die and apply them to the products. Regarding the general term "manipulator" and the slightly more specific term "handling robot," please refer to the explanations above. These terms are not intended to denote different machines but can generally be understood as synonyms.

[0026] The unwinding or rolling motion for the packaging blanks can occur as soon as they are removed from the magazine, for example, to prevent the blanks from sticking together. The unwinding or rolling motion can also be performed at a pre-breaking station and / or when applying the blanks to the articles or containers.

[0027] If the packaging blanks are already sufficiently weakened at the pre-breaking station, a rolling motion may only be necessary there, and not during the actual application to the product groupings.

[0028] If a curved packaging blank is to be handled in the gripper head of the manipulator, it can be advantageous to arrange the stretching tools of the stretching die in or within a curved plane. The stretching tools or pre-breaking elements of the pre-breaking station can, for example, be arranged on a curved plane, thus eliminating the need for a separate drive in the robot to create the bend. With such an arrangement of the stretching tools within a curved plane, a flat, non-curved packaging blank can be pre-broken and / or weakened to varying degrees at different points by being applied perpendicularly to the stretching die.

[0029] In particular, at least two longitudinal axes of respective stretching tools that are part of the same stretching die can be arranged at an angle greater than 1° and less than 359° to each other.

[0030] The packaging machine according to the invention is particularly suitable for articles which are formed by containers with low inherent stability and / or by containers with a shape that yields under the influence of force.

[0031] In particular, the product with which the items are filled is essentially pressureless, especially CO2-free.

[0032] The packaging machine according to the invention can advantageously be equipped with one or more handling robots or multi-axis robots. For example, the packaging machine can be equipped with at least one handling robot or multi-axis robot, which is designed to perform movements for applying the packaging blanks to the stretch die and / or to the articles and can be controlled accordingly. The at least one handling robot or multi-axis robot receives its control commands for carrying out handling steps from the control unit, which has stored programs for several different movement paths for controlling the manipulator or a control head of the handling robot or the multi-axis robot.

[0033] The packaging machine equipped in this way can preferably also store the motion paths specified by the control unit via the programs stored therein in program form, whereby the application movements, which pretreat and / or weaken the packaging blank at at least some of its openings, can be included when pressing the packaging blanks onto the stretch die and / or onto the articles. Furthermore, the packaging machine according to the invention can advantageously be configured such that it is equipped with at least two multi-axis robots with coordinated motion controllers, wherein a first handling robot removes the packaging blanks from a magazine and feeds them to the stretch die, and wherein a second handling robot picks up the packaging blanks, which may already be pretreated, from the stretch die and applies them to the articles.If two handling robots or multi-axis robots are available, it can be advantageous to use only one of these robots for removing the packaging blanks from the magazine, and the other robot specifically for applying the pre-treated packaging blanks to the articles or containers. The pre-treatment of the packaging blanks on the stretch die can be performed by the first, the second, or both robots.

[0034] The packaging machine can also be equipped with a device for optical monitoring of the finished packages, which is specifically designed to subject the finished packages to an optical condition check. This optical monitoring device includes, in particular, at least one camera with downstream image processing. The image processing can, for example, detect whether all flaps are engaged and / or whether the packaging blank, which can also be referred to as a top clip, is located on the correct plane.

[0035] In the packaging machine according to the invention, the control unit, which generates the control commands for controlling the at least one handling robot or multi-axis robot, can access a central database to adapt its control programs. This database contains at least information on material and / or deformation data of the packaging blanks used and / or other process-specific information. The central database can also include data on suitable angles for deformation of the flaps and / or on force values ​​of the motors for pretreating and / or applying the packaging blanks. Furthermore, data on the container type, the top clip manufacturers, the top clip material thickness, etc., can be stored there, from which, for example, settings for threshold and target values ​​can also be derived for other packaging machines.In this context, it can also be useful to employ and utilize machine learning principles and / or artificial intelligence to gradually refine the acquired data and adapt it to changing circumstances. To achieve the aforementioned goal, the invention further proposes a method for producing containers, each of which is formed by at least two articles grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank, wherein the packaging blanks are equipped with openings for receiving at least one article, through which an article passes and is fixed.

[0036] The process involves pressing the packaging blanks onto the articles using a manipulator in a rolling motion that causes the packaging blank to warp, at least in sections.

[0037] The process may also include the use of a stretching die to weaken the packaging blanks at their respective openings for pretreatment purposes, thereby reducing the joining force when applying the packaging blanks to the articles passing through the openings. It can be advantageous if, during pretreatment, the packaging blanks are pressed onto the stretching die by the manipulator in a rolling motion that causes the packaging blank to warp, at least in sections. This rolling motion can be performed during magazine removal, at the pre-breaking station, and / or when applying the packaging blanks to the article containers.

[0038] According to another method variant, the movement sequences for applying the packaging blanks to the articles and / or to the stretching die can be carried out by means of at least one multi-axis robot, which receives its control commands for carrying out handling steps from a control unit, which control unit has stored programs for several different movement paths for controlling the manipulator or a control head of the multi-axis robot.

[0039] The movement paths specified by the control unit using the programs stored therein can include the application movements, which pretreat and / or weaken the packaging blank at at least some of its openings, when pressing the packaging blanks onto the stretching die and / or onto the articles. The movement paths specified by the control unit using the programs stored therein can, in particular, include the rolling movements, which warp the packaging blank, when pressing the packaging blanks onto the articles and / or onto the stretching die.

[0040] In particular, it may be provided that initially only one item from a package or only a first row of items from a package comes into contact with the packaging blank, and only afterwards another item or another row of the same package comes into contact with the same blank.

[0041] Furthermore, it can be advantageous if the movement paths for the rolling application of the packaging blanks are defined by a combined and / or superimposed control of at least two arm sections of the multi-axis robot. In this case, the unwinding motion can be implemented, for example, by a combined control of two robot axes for a straight and uncurved packaging blank. Additionally, the deformation that causes the packaging blank to warp can be defined by a corresponding control of a gripper arm of the multi-axis robot.

[0042] In particular, it may be provided that the items are transported while the packaging cut is applied to them.

[0043] In particular, it may be provided that the manipulator performs a rolling movement and a movement accompanying the (moving) articles simultaneously at certain times.

[0044] Alternatively, at least two multi-axis robots can be used in the process with coordinated motion control, wherein a first handling robot removes the packaging blanks from a magazine and feeds them to the stretching die, and wherein a second handling robot picks up the pre-treated packaging blanks from the stretching die and applies them to the articles.

[0045] This method is particularly advantageous for articles where the articles are formed by containers with low inherent stability and / or containers with a flexible shape under force. This can apply, for example, to containers made of a cellulose-containing composite material, such as pulp bottles. Furthermore, the articles can be containers for uncarbonated beverages, which generally exhibit lower mechanical stability due to the lack of stabilizing internal pressure.

[0046] The procedure may also include the provision that the finished containers are subjected to an optical condition check, in particular using at least one camera with subsequent image evaluation.

[0047] Furthermore, in this method, the control device, which generates the control commands for controlling the at least one multi-axis robot, can preferably access a central database to adapt its control programs. This database should contain at least information on material and / or deformation data of the packaging blanks used and / or other process-specific information.

[0048] As mentioned above, the packaging machine according to the invention can be coupled to or equipped with a control center that serves to control various system functions and is coupled to a data storage device that collects and stores sensor data acquired in the packaging device or packaging machine, and that can also provide stored sensor data and / or operating and system parameters of the packaging device for influencing system functions. The data storage device can, for example, comprise a database, which in turn can be stored in a data cloud or partially stored there.

[0049] The terms "control center" and "control device" are to be understood as synonymous in this patent application. The control center or control device can comprise one or more PLCs. A central control unit, in particular a PLC, may be provided that, in addition to the packaging machine or robot, controls other parts of a complete system, which may include other machines such as a filler or a palletizer.

[0050] The database can store numerous parameters, such as those for inputting appropriate angles for deforming the locking elements of the packaging blanks—in this context, these are primarily deformable retaining and / or fixing tabs—on the inside of the through-holes, and / or appropriate force values ​​for the motors used to apply the packaging blanks to the product groups. The various container types, manufacturers, available material data of the packaging blanks, material thicknesses of the packaging blanks, etc., can also be taken into account. From this, appropriate values ​​for setting threshold and target values ​​of the packaging machine, as well as for other system components, such as a labeling, filling, sealing, or stretch blow molding machine upstream of the packaging machine, can be calculated.In principle, the principles of machine learning can be taken into account in all these database accesses and calculations. All of these aspects also apply to the method according to the invention.

[0051] The database can also store article data, in particular size and diameter. Furthermore, this data can be assigned to specific container types to be produced by the packaging machine and / or to different modules of the packaging machine, especially those modules involved in container formation.

[0052] Finally, the present invention also comprises a container formed by at least two articles grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank, wherein the packaging blank is equipped with through-openings for receiving at least one article, through which through-openings an article passes and is preferably fixed there, wherein the container was produced by means of a method according to one of the previously described embodiments, and wherein the articles are each formed by containers with low inherent stability and / or by containers with a shape that yields under the influence of force.

[0053] It should be further noted that the present invention also relates to and extends to a container formed by at least two articles to be combined by means of at least one packaging blank, without the articles already being combined by the packaging blank. The packaging blank provided for combining the articles and forming the container is equipped with openings for receiving the at least two articles, through which each article passes and is preferably fixed, wherein the container can be produced by a method according to one of the previously described embodiments, and wherein the articles are each formed by containers with low inherent stability and / or by containers with a shape that yields under the influence of force.This minor modification of the invention thus essentially defines an assembly of articles in a state in which the packaging blank intended for forming the container has not yet been applied, or at least not yet completely applied. It is therefore intended to be an assembly of articles over which the packaging blank to be applied is already in a deformed, warped, or bent state, so that it can be applied to the articles in the desired manner in this state.

[0054] It should be expressly mentioned here that all aspects and embodiments explained in connection with the packaging machine according to the invention equally relate to, or can constitute, partial aspects of the inventive method for producing containers. Therefore, whenever certain aspects, relationships, and / or effects are mentioned in the description or in the claim definitions of the packaging machine according to the invention, this applies equally to the method according to the invention. Conversely, the same applies, so that all aspects and embodiments explained in connection with the inventive method for producing containers equally relate to, or can constitute, partial aspects of the packaging machine according to the invention.Therefore, if at any point in the description or in the claim definitions for the inventive method certain aspects and / or relationships and / or effects are mentioned, this applies equally to the packaging machine according to the invention.

[0055] The following explanations summarize some aspects of the invention previously described in various embodiments and highlight further connections. Several aspects are clarified, but these should not be seen as contradicting the explanations already given, but rather as more specific embodiments and / or modifications when considered together and / or in cases of doubt. As mentioned several times above, the process steps carried out by the method, the pretreatment module, and / or the packaging machine for pretreating already manufactured packaging units and / or for producing containers using pretreated packaging blanks are specifically designed to reduce and / or influence and / or vary the application force required to secure a gripping carton package to a group of products.The packaging units or containers produced in this application step comprise at least one article, but preferably at least two articles or containers, on which at least one packaging blank, at least partially formed with a flat surface, is arranged, wherein the packaging blank has at least one opening for the at least two grouped articles in the flat surface area.

[0056] The items in question can be containers, such as beverage containers, in particular bottles made of glass, PET or another suitable plastic, cans made of plastic and / or aluminum or another metal, etc. However, the packaging device is also suitable for attaching and securing a corresponding packaging insert to other suitable items or containers.

[0057] The flat packaging material can be made primarily from recyclable cellulose-based materials. Specifically, it can be made entirely of cardboard and / or paperboard, which can be easily recycled after use. Alternatively, the flat packaging material could be made of plastic, particularly single-material thermoplastics, which are also readily recyclable.

[0058] Furthermore, it may be provided that the flat packaging cutout has one or more cutouts, which may together form a carrying handle.

[0059] In particular, the entire packaging cut may be essentially flat. Tabs from openings or handles may "stick out".

[0060] Alternatively, the flat packaging cut can be composed of several cellulose-containing layers or of a combination of different materials, as well as different recycled materials.

[0061] A packaging machine for producing packaging units or containers comprises at least one feeding device for the single item to be packaged or for assemblies of several items, an optional pretreatment module for preparing the packaging blank as required for application to the at least one item, and at least one packaging module for applying and fixing the packaging blank to the groupings of items.

[0062] If the packaging blanks are to undergo pretreatment, the optional pretreatment module may include at least one device designed to reduce resistance in an edge region of the at least one opening of the packaging blank during the subsequent application of the packaging blank to the at least one article. This device may be the aforementioned stretch die.

[0063] The smallest variant of such manufactured packaging units or containers consists of an article equipped with at least one primary secondary packaging element in the form of a flat packaging blank. All characteristics described here relating to such packaging units may therefore, in principle, be interpreted as applying to packaging units comprising only one article and one packaging blank attached to it. However, all characteristics described here relating to such packaging units also apply analogously or in a suitably adapted manner to packaging units comprising two or more articles and one packaging blank attached to them. In this case, the packaging blank may be designed as a carrying handle, which is not described in detail here.

[0064] Furthermore, it is possible for the items in the packaging units or containers to be additionally bundled together by a second secondary packaging material or by a tertiary packaging material. Such a second secondary or tertiary packaging material can, for example, consist of at least one band- or strip-like, closed strapping that is stretched horizontally around one side of the items or containers and optionally fixed at a point of contact with at least one of the items.

[0065] Packaging units and containers are used synonymously here.

[0066] Typically, after the packaging blank has been determined, a defined upper portion of the items is positioned above the blank, while a defined lower portion is located below it. As explained in the context of this description using various design variants, the openings of the packaging blank feature suitable fixing devices, which can be, for example, formed by fixing tabs or retaining tabs. When fixing tabs are mentioned, this refers to retaining tabs, and vice versa. Furthermore, when tabs are mentioned in general, this refers to the fixing tabs or retaining tabs located at the openings.

[0067] For example, the fixing or retaining tabs are formed by cuts or similar features extending radially from the openings. After the packaging blank is positioned and attached to the items, it engages with them in such a way that it is essentially fixed in place, and the items can no longer make any significant relative movements or changes in position relative to each other or to the packaging blank in the plane of the packaging blank (rotation around its own axis is usually still possible in the case of round items). Thus, the packaging blank can only be removed from the items in the group with increased force and an upward force component, whereby the packaging blank is usually at least partially destroyed.

[0068] The packaging machine comprises at least one feeding device through which at least one, but typically at least two, items are fed. Preferably, the items are pre-assembled into groups in a suitable number and arrangement, and these groups are fed to a packaging module via the at least one feeding device. In the packaging module, a packaging blank is applied to and secured to the group of items. For this purpose, a packaging blank can be taken from a magazine and prepared in an optional pre-treatment module for application to the at least two items of the group.For this purpose, the optional pretreatment module includes at least one device designed to reduce resistance in an edge area of ​​the penetration openings of the packaging blank during the subsequent application of the packaging blank to the at least two articles.

[0069] For this purpose, and according to some embodiments of the present invention, the pretreatment module comprises at least one expansion die, optionally a plurality of expansion dies, which is / are suitable for expanding and / or widening the edge regions of the at least one passage opening in the manner described. In this case, the pretreatment at least slightly increases the mean diameter of the passage openings. This allows an upper region of the articles with a maximum diameter, which is preferably at least slightly larger than the mean diameter of the passage openings, to be more easily passed through the respective passage opening.

[0070] In particular, the application force with which the respective packaging blank is pressed onto the articles, so that the lower part of the articles with a maximum diameter is positioned below the packaging blank and the upper part of the articles is positioned above the packaging blank, is significantly reduced compared to an application force that would be necessary to fix a packaging blank to the articles without pretreatment.

[0071] This also reduces the risk of damaging the items when applying the packaging blank compared to conventional packaging devices and methods. In this case, even items with a thinner wall can be used without being damaged during the application of the packaging blank.

[0072] Specifically, the packaging blank is designed to be slipped over a circumferential rim on the respective item, with tabs at the lower edge of the rim wedging in place if an attempt is made to remove the blank from the item in the opposite direction of application. The rim can be a carrying ring in the case of bottles and a crimped edge in the case of cans.

[0073] As explained above, in the inventive method and packaging machine, the openings of a packaging blank can be pretreated unevenly and / or only partially, or not all openings can be pretreated equally. However, it is not absolutely necessary to carry out these pretreatment steps, since the packaging blanks are applied to the articles in a rolling motion, so that not all articles pass through the respective openings of the packaging blank at the same time. This significantly reduces the application forces. In particular, the packaging machine is designed without a blank pretreatment device. In other words, in the packaging machine, the packaging blanks are preferably taken from a magazine and applied directly to the articles, i.e., without pretreatment or weakening.

[0074] During pretreatment, the packaging blank is pressed against the expansion dies, so that the expansion tools of the dies engage with the openings in certain areas, particularly with the edges of the openings. This causes an expansion or other modification of the edges of the openings, and in particular weakens the material in these areas. Preferably, the expansion dies increase the average diameter of the openings.

[0075] The stretching tools of the stretching die can be, for example, conical or frustoconical, with the cone apex or the side with the smaller cross-sectional area facing upwards. In this case, the stretching dies can be suitable for different article sizes. Depending on the average diameter of the openings, the packaging blank can be pressed down accordingly to widen the openings as desired.

[0076] As will be explained further below, the expansion tools can also be formed by halved expansion cones that pretreat only half an inner circle of a passage opening in the manner described, while the remaining area remains untouched.

[0077] The arrangement, number, and positioning of the stretching tools on the respective stretching dies correspond to the arrangement, number, and positioning of the openings in the packaging blank, unless individual openings are to be excluded from pretreatment. Thus, the appropriate stretching tools can be provided using the interchangeable stretching dies, allowing for quick and easy adaptation to a planned product change without requiring complex retooling.

[0078] When pretreating the packaging blanks, it may be specifically intended that the average diameter of the openings is increased during pretreatment. It may also be the case that fixing tabs or retaining tabs formed in the respective edge area of ​​the openings are folded over, at least partially, so that the fixing tabs or retaining tabs subsequently protrude from the plane in which the openings are arranged.

[0079] The invention may additionally be directed to a system comprising a packaging machine according to the invention, as well as a filling machine for filling beverages into containers and / or a labeling machine for labeling the containers upstream of the packaging machine and / or a palletizing machine for palletizing the containers produced in the packaging mixture downstream of the packaging machine.

[0080] Accordingly, the procedure may additionally provide for:

[0081] Filling beverages into containers and / or labeling the containers / or palletizing the packages.

[0082] Alternatively, the invention could be presented as follows:

[0083] This is a method and a device for producing containers, each formed by at least two articles grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank, wherein the packaging blanks are equipped with openings for receiving at least one article, through which openings an article passes at least partially and is fixed there, wherein the openings are each equipped with fixing or retaining tabs pointing inwards towards a center of the opening, which are separated from each other by star-shaped cuts and / or scorings pointing towards the center of the opening, and wherein preferably all fixing or retaining tabs of a packaging blank are pretreated, in particular pre-bent, wherein the packaging blank is then applied to the at least two articles.Warping can occur during the pretreatment of the packaging blanks, or optionally during application to the products. This means that warping of the packaging blanks can occur either during pretreatment, during application to the products, or both.

[0084] In particular, the openings can be designed and / or equipped to accommodate exactly one item each. In particular, pretreatment can take place at least 20 cm away from the application.

[0085] In particular, pretreatment can take place at least 0.5 seconds before application.

[0086] In particular, the pre-bending can comprise a bending of at least one fixing or retaining tab, preferably of all fixing or retaining tabs to be pre-bent, by at least 1°, preferably at least 5°, more preferably at least 10°.

[0087] In particular, the pre-bending can include bending at least one fixing or retaining tab, preferably all fixing or retaining tabs to be pre-bent, by a maximum of 90°, preferably a maximum of 80°, more preferably a maximum of 70°.

[0088] In particular, at least one, preferably all, non-pre-bent fixing or retaining tabs are then bent for the first time by an article.

[0089] Instead of "applying", one could also say "picking up articles" or "passing articles through the openings".

[0090] Preferably, the bending edges, in particular all of them, are located in a main plane of the packaging blank. Preferably, the bending edges, in particular all of them, are located in the same plane as the through-holes.

[0091] In particular, part of the fixing or retaining tabs may protrude from this plane or main plane after pre-bending and before initial contact with the articles.

[0092] In particular, the packaging blanks may need to be cut or divided before application. This might involve dividing a large blank into two or more smaller ones. This division can be performed by another manipulator, especially by pressing the blank against a support with cutting elements (e.g., shearing edges or blades) on which it temporarily rests after being removed from the magazine.

[0093] In particular, the packaging machine may be equipped with a supply of continuous material from which the packaging blanks are produced. This continuous material (also called a web) can, for example, be in the form of a roll and unwound continuously. Alternatively, the continuous material (or web) can also be folded multiple times and stored as a folded stack, from which the required sections are taken and cut off.

[0094] In particular, the packaging machine may include several rollers which can deflect and / or treat cut pieces or the continuous material.

[0095] In particular, the packaging machine may include a cutting device to, for example, divide larger blanks or larger sheets of blanks into smaller blanks before or during their application, or to, for example, divide the continuous material lengthwise and / or crosswise to its direction of travel.

[0096] In particular, the packaging machine can include a cutting roller as a cutting device, on which packaging blanks or continuous material can be cut and / or perforated. Specifically, a counter-pressure roller can be arranged directly opposite the cutting roller, which presses the packaging blanks or continuous material against the cutting roller.

[0097] In particular, the packaging machine can include a pre-crushing roller as a pre-crushing station, on which the stretching tools or pre-crushing elements can be arranged. The stretching tools can be arranged along the circumference of the pre-crushing roller. In particular, a further roller or counter-pressure roller can be arranged directly opposite the pre-crushing roller, which presses the continuous material and / or the blanks against the stretching tools or pre-crushing elements.

[0098] In particular, several rows of expansion tools can be arranged in an axial direction of the pre-crushing roller.

[0099] In particular, the pre-crushing roller and / or the cutting roller may comprise several detachably connected modules, each of which can be arranged in the axial direction to other modules.

[0100] In other words, the pre-crushing roller can comprise several smaller pre-crushing rollers, each of which can include a variety of stretching tools or pre-crushing elements along its circumference. Or, put another way, the cutting roller can comprise several smaller cutting rollers, each of which can include a cutting element (e.g., a knife or shearing edge). Specifically, the packaging machine can include an application roller by means of which the packaging blanks can be pressed onto the items.

[0101] The following exemplary embodiments of the invention and its advantages will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures. The relative sizes of the individual elements in the figures do not always correspond to the actual relative sizes, as some shapes are simplified and others are enlarged for better illustration.

[0102] Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a packaging machine according to the invention, which serves to package articles using packaging blanks.

[0103] Figures 2A to 2D show, in various schematic views, successive process steps that take place one after the other when applying packaging blanks to grouped articles.

[0104] Figures 3A to 3E show further schematic views of several process steps related to the pretreatment of packaging blanks, which are subsequently applied to groupings of articles.

[0105] Fig. 4A shows a schematic top view of a variant of a packaging blank that can be used for the production of containers and is equipped with a total of six openings for interaction with articles that can be inserted and locked into place.

[0106] Fig. 4B shows the packaging blank according to Fig. 4A after a pretreatment step in which some fixing or retaining tabs in the passage openings are reinforced by folding over longer sections.

[0107] Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a packaging machine according to the invention as well as some of its interacting components.

[0108] Fig. 6 shows a schematic top view of another embodiment of a packaging machine according to the invention with some of its interacting components.

[0109] Figures 7A to 7D show one method of handling packaging blanks, which can be applied to groups of items using a pivoting gripper head in a rolling motion. Figures 8A to 8F show an alternative method of handling packaging blanks, which can be shaped into a curved contour using an adjustable gripper head in order to apply them to groups of items in a rolling motion.

[0110] Figures 9A to 9D show another variant of the handling of packaging blanks, which can be applied to groups of articles using a curved contoured gripper head in a rolling motion.

[0111] Figures 10A and 10B show different variants of handling packaging blanks within a pretreatment station with an alternatively designed stretching die, in which the stretching tools are inclined towards each other.

[0112] Fig. 11 shows a schematic view of an alternative design variant of a packaging machine in which the packaging blanks are separated by cutting them from an endless web of material before they are applied to assemblies of articles.

[0113] Fig. 12 shows a schematic view of an alternative design variant of a packaging machine in which the packaging blanks are unwound and separated by cutting them from an endless web of material wound on a roll before being applied to sets of articles.

[0114] For identical or similarly acting elements of the invention, the following description of the figures generally uses the same reference numerals. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, in many cases only those reference numerals are used in the individual figures that are necessary for describing the respective figure. The embodiments shown are merely examples of how the packaging machine or the method for producing containers according to the invention can be designed and do not represent an exhaustive limitation. Moreover, the features described below are not to be understood as closely related to other features of the respective embodiment, but can each be provided for or used in a general context.

[0115] The schematic representation in Fig. 1 illustrates the basic components and the process steps involved in the production of packaging units or containers. For this purpose, a packaging machine 2 is used, which can produce packaging units or containers 18 consisting of at least two articles 12 and an associated packaging blank 10 (see also Fig. 2D). The at least two articles 12, when connected to the packaging blank 10, pass at least partially through openings 14 in a planar area of ​​the packaging blank 10 (see Fig. 2A).

[0116] The packaging machine 2 comprises at least one feeding device 4 for the at least two articles 12, wherein these two or more articles 12 can be fed to the packaging machine 2 in particular in grouped form, i.e. as article grouping 20.

[0117] Furthermore, the packaging machine 2 includes a pretreatment module 6 for pretreating the packaging blanks 10 in order to prepare them for application to at least two articles 12 or to the article grouping 20. To clarify that the packaging blanks 10 are thus prepared for application to the articles 12, they are designated with the reference number 10v in the following description and in the drawing.

[0118] This pretreatment module 6 of the packaging machine 2 can be equipped with at least one stretch die 22, but preferably can also be equipped with different stretch dies 22a and 22b (see Figures 5 and 6), which are provided for the targeted and variably configurable widening of the at least one opening 14 of the packaging blank 10. If the packaging machine is equipped with the stretch dies 22, these are each equipped with at least two stretching tools 24 (see also Figures 5 and 6), which can be used for the pretreatment of the openings 14 of each packaging blank 10, 10v pretreated by means of the stretch dies 22, 22a, 22b.

[0119] As can be seen in particular from Fig. 5, the at least two stretching tools 24 of each stretching die 22 or of the different stretching dies 22a and 22b for adapting to differently pre-treated passage openings 14 within the same packaging blank 10 or of different models on packaging blanks 10 can either be dimensioned differently and / or equipped with different relative positions to each other or with different distances from each other, so that different packaging blanks 10 can be pre-treated by using differently designed stretching dies 22, 22a or 22b.

[0120] What is merely indicated in Fig. 1 is the usability of a defined stretching die 22 or the option to select from at least two existing stretching dies 22a or 22b as active stretching dies 22, each of which can be used for pretreating the packaging blanks 10, while the other stretching die 22b or 22a remains inactive and can be kept ready for later use as an active stretching die 22. In the described case, for example, the first stretching die 22a can be considered the active stretching die 22, while the second stretching die 22b is inactive and is therefore shown with a broken line.

[0121] Furthermore, the packaging machine 2, shown schematically, includes a packaging module 8 for applying and securing untreated packaging blanks 10 or pretreated packaging blanks 10v to the at least two articles 12 of the respective article grouping 20, thereby combining them into packaging units or bundles 18. These packaging units or bundles 18, which are normally produced in large numbers and in a continuous, uninterrupted production sequence by the packaging machine 2, and in which the packaging blank 10 or 10v is to be considered a secondary packaging material and the bundles 18 are to be considered secondary packaging, can subsequently be subjected to further processing, e.g., repackaging with tertiary packaging materials and / or assembly into palletizable layer arrangements for stacking and palletizing.

[0122] However, it should be emphasized that the use of the expansion dies 22, 22a and / or 22b shown in Fig. 1 is not strictly necessary for the application of the application method according to the invention described herein, because the application of the packaging blanks 10 to the article groups 20 can also be carried out if the packaging blanks 10 have not been pretreated. Since the method according to the invention provides that the packaging blanks 10 are pressed onto the articles 12 by means of a manipulator in a rolling motion that causes the packaging blank 10 to warp, the effects pursued by the invention can also be achieved if the packaging blanks 10 are applied directly to the articles 12 or to the article groups 20 without prior pretreatment.

[0123] The same applies to the packaging machine 2 according to the invention, since it has at least one manipulator that is prepared and equipped accordingly to press the packaging blanks 10 onto the articles 12 during their respective application in a rolling motion that causes the packaging blank 10 to warp. This does not preclude the packaging blanks 10 from being pretreated beforehand, so that they are weakened in the pretreatment station 6 by means of the stretching dies 22 or 22a or 22b in the area of ​​their respective through-openings 14, wherein even in these optional pretreatment steps the packaging blanks 10 are pressed onto the stretching dies 22, 22a or 22b in a rolling motion that causes the respective packaging blank 10 to warp.

[0124] These two options will be explained in more detail below with reference to Figures 7A ff.

[0125] Based on the schematic views of Figures 2A to 2D, the essential principles of combining article groups 20 by means of attaching a packaging blank 10, i.e. in particular a pre-treated packaging blank 10v, will first be explained, before the characteristics of the present invention, namely the uneven pre-treatment of one or more passage openings 14 and / or the different pre-treatment of several passage openings 14 of the same packaging blank 10, are to be illustrated in the further figures, i.e. in Figures 5A to 11.

[0126] The schematic top view of Fig. 2A illustrates a first embodiment of a packaging blank 10, which can be used to group articles 12 (see Fig. 2B) by passing these articles 12 with their outer surfaces through appropriately provided passage openings 14 and being locked into place with the edge areas 16 of the passage openings 14.

[0127] Furthermore, the schematic top view in Fig. 2B shows an article 12 from above, which can be combined with several other similar or identical articles 12 by the packaging blank 10 according to Fig. 2A to form a packaging unit or a container 18 (see Fig. 2D). The schematic side views in Figures 2C and 2D schematically show a possible variant of an application process for attaching such a packaging blank 10, i.e., a pre-treated packaging blank 10v, to an assembly of articles 12 according to Fig. 2B. Such an assembly of varying sizes, which is adapted to the packaging blank 10 with which the articles 12 are equipped with regard to the number and arrangement of the articles 12 contained therein, shall in this context also be referred to as an article grouping 20.

[0128] As mentioned above with reference to Fig. 1, the present invention does not necessarily require that the packaging blanks 10 be weakened at their openings 14 in a separate pretreatment step before the application process, since they can optionally be applied directly to the article groups 20 in a rolling motion without prior pretreatment. However, since pretreatment is a common measure for preparing the packaging blanks 10 and facilitating their application to the article groups 20, it will be described by way of example in this context with reference to Figures 2A to 2D and 3A to 3E. This also makes it easier to highlight and clarify the advantages of the application process according to the invention while simultaneously warping the packaging blanks 10.

[0129] Preferably, the articles 12 can be beverage containers in the form of bottles or beverage cans 26 made of plastic and / or aluminum or of another suitable metal or material. However, the packaging machine 2 and the method for producing packaging units or containers 18, which are explained in more detail below, are also suitable for arranging and securing a corresponding packaging blank 10 to other suitable articles 12. These can include, in addition to the beverage cans 26 shown, for example, mineral glass bottles, PET beverage containers, or the like.

[0130] Articles 12, cans or beverage cans 26, typically have an annular widening in their upper region, against which the packaging blank 10 can be secured, in particular by a snap-fit ​​mechanism. Specifically, the cans or beverage cans 26 have an annular lid rim 28. Below this annular or circular lid rim 28, the cans 26 have at least a slight narrowing 30 or constriction 30 of a smaller diameter than the lid rim 28. As can be seen in the schematic side view of Fig. 2C, the constriction 30 located below the lid rim 28 has a slightly smaller diameter than the outer surface 32 of the respective can 26 located below the constriction 30, and also a smaller diameter than the lid rim 28 located above the constriction 30.

[0131] The cans 26 may in particular be beverage cans 26 known from the prior art, which are therefore also and generally designated by the reference number 26 in the present context.

[0132] Preferably, the packaging blank 10 or 10v is provided that, after being applied to the assembly or grouping 20 of at least two such cans 26 or beverage cans 26, it is fixed below the lid rim 28, as designated here, in the area of ​​the taper 30 or constriction 30 on the cans 26. Thus, after the packaging blank 10, 10v is applied to the articles 12 formed by the cans 26, a portion of these articles 12 or cans 26 is located above the packaging blank 10, namely, in particular, the can lid with the can closure 34 illustrated in Fig. 2B, while the remaining portion of the articles 12 or cans 26, including their respective outer surface 32, is located below the packaging blank 10, 10v. In particular, it is provided that the packaging blank 10 or 10v is fixed below the can lid rim 28 in the area of ​​the taper 30 or constriction 30.10v in this position is fixed by the articles 12 or cans 26 and conversely, the articles 12 or cans 26 are fixed by the packaging blank 10.

[0133] That in this context the shape of the containers 18 formed in this way and the position of the articles 12 or cans 26 within the assembly or grouping of articles 20 play a role for the degree and extent of fixation, and that this extent of fixation can be influenced by the specific type of pretreatment of the packaging blanks 10, will be explained in more detail below with reference to Figures 5 and 6.

[0134] If, for example, the articles 12 are bottles made of PET or another suitable plastic material with a screw cap, the bottle has a widening area below the screw cap in the form of the so-called neck ring (not shown here). Below the neck ring, the diameter of the bottle is again reduced in some areas and widens downwards into the body area. Specifically, it is intended that the packaging blank 10, after being applied to an assembly of bottles, is positioned below the neck ring of the bottle's closure area. Thus, after the packaging blank 10 is applied to the bottles, the closure area and the neck ring of the bottles are located above the packaging blank 10, while the remaining part of the bottles is located below the packaging blank 10.

[0135] Here too, the above applies, namely that the bottles, which are fixed to different degrees and may tend to drift apart in different ways during manual handling, can be fixed more evenly by a special type of pretreatment of the packaging blanks according to Figures 5A ff., which can contribute to improved mechanical cohesion of the bottles in the container 18.

[0136] The packaging blank 10 is preferably substantially planar and has the circular openings 14 for the articles 12 or cans 26 shown in Figures 2A, 2C and 2D. The packaging blank 10 is designed such that it can be placed or pressed onto the articles 12 or cans 26 from above, with the articles 12 or cans 26 passing at least partially through the openings 14, so that after the packaging blank 10, 10v, which is preferably pre-treated, is attached to an article grouping 20, the articles 12 or cans 26 are located partly above and partly below the packaging blank 10, 10v.

[0137] After the packaging blank 10 or 10v has been defined, a defined upper area of ​​the articles 12 or cans 26 is located above the packaging blank 10 or 10v, while a defined lower area of ​​the articles 12 or cans 26 is arranged below the packaging blank 10, 10v. In particular, an edge area 16, which limits the openings 14, abuts the outer surface 32 of the articles 12 or cans 26, as illustrated in Fig. 2D by the example of such a packaging unit or container 18 formed in this way.

[0138] Preferably, the openings 14 of the packaging blank 10 can have suitable fixing devices, which can be formed, for example, by fixing or retaining tabs so designated herein. Such fixing or retaining tabs can be formed by incisions extending radially inwards from the openings 14, which, however, are not shown in Fig. 2A. Figures 3A to 3E, however, clearly show these fixing or retaining tabs.

[0139] These fixing tabs or retaining tabs also form the objects of the pretreatment described in more detail below, since they can be selectively pretreated by folding or pre-folding them to weaken the fold points. Such folding or pre-folding generally leads to reduced stiffness and increased flexibility of the pretreated sections of the edge regions 16 of the passage openings 14, which can be used in the present invention to selectively adjust the holding forces of the individual articles 12 or cans 26 within the respective passage openings 14.

[0140] After the packaging blank 10 has been arranged and attached to the articles 12 formed by the cans 26, it engages with the cans 26 in such a way that the packaging blank 10 or 10v is essentially fixed in position on the cans 26 and the cans 26 can no longer make any significant relative movements or changes in position relative to each other or to the packaging blank 10 or 10v.

[0141] Thus, the packaging blank 10 or 10v can only be removed from the articles 12 or cans 26 of the article grouping 20 with increased force and a force component directed away from the articles 12, i.e., in particular upwards, whereby the packaging blank 10 is usually at least partially destroyed. This type of disassembly of the container 18 by separating individual articles 12 or cans 26 while simultaneously destroying or partially destroying the packaging blank 10 is an intentional measure that can be carried out by the end customer when removing individual articles 12 or cans 26 for the purpose of consuming the liquid contents of the articles 12 or cans 26.

[0142] Such packaging blanks 10, as shown here, are often also referred to as gripper carton packaging or top gripper carton packaging. Regardless of their other designation, the packaging blanks 10 can also be considered, in principle, as secondary packaging for grouping several primary packages, namely the Article 12, cans 26, or beverage cans 26. The packaging blank 10 preferably consists of a suitable cardboard material, a plastic material, a cardboard-plastic composite material, or the like, which is normally formed by a die-cutting process into the shape shown in Figures 2A or 3A or into the shape shown in Figures 4A and 4B.

[0143] To produce a packaging unit or container 18 (see Fig. 2D), a packaging blank 10 can optionally be pretreated in a suitable manner to reduce the resistance of the packaging blank 10 in the edge areas 16 limiting the passage openings 14 when applying the packaging blank 10 to the at least two articles 12 or cans 26.

[0144] As clarified above, the pre-treated packaging blank 10 will hereinafter also be referred to by the more precise reference numeral 10v to indicate that the packaging blank 10 has undergone the pre-treatment steps described below. However, as also clarified above, the pre-treatment of the packaging blanks 10 is not a mandatory measure in the invention discussed here, since the packaging blanks 10 can optionally be firmly bonded to the articles 12 of the article grouping 20 using the novel application method, even without prior pre-treatment.

[0145] The untreated packaging blank 10 or the possibly pretreated packaging blank 10v is placed on a corresponding assembly or grouping of articles 20 of at least two articles 12 or cans 26 and, according to Fig. 2C, is pressed at least partially onto the articles 12 of the grouping 20 by an application force 36 directed at least partially downwards or parallel to the longitudinal axes of the upright articles 12 or cans 26, in particular by means of a pressure force 36 applied downwards as evenly as possible to the top of the pretreated packaging blank 10v, and thereby fixed to the articles 12 or cans 26.

[0146] Due to the pretreatment already mentioned and explained in more detail below, and the resulting reduction in resistance, the application force 36 can be significantly reduced compared to the pressure force 36 required for an untreated packaging blank 10. This generally makes it possible to attach packaging blanks 10v even to articles 12 that, for example, have a thinner wall and are therefore less stable under applied pressure and at risk of buckling. In this way, material consumption for the articles 12 can be reduced, as even thinner-walled and mechanically less stable articles 12 can be grouped together using such a packaging blank 10 or 10v.

[0147] Furthermore, the advantageous reduction of the resistance force and thus the application force 36 makes it possible to apply several packaging blanks 10v simultaneously or almost simultaneously to larger groupings 20 of upright articles 12 or beverage cans 26 and thus increase the machine performance of a packaging machine involved in this.

[0148] While Fig. 2A shows an example of a small-area packaging blank 10 with only four through-holes 14 punched in a rectangular arrangement for grouping an article grouping 20 with only four articles 12 or cans 26, the specific pretreatment steps for improving the mechanical cohesion of the articles 12 or cans 26 within the respective container 18 will be explained below, in particular with reference to packaging blanks 10 in which six articles 12 or cans 26 are grouped in a rectangular arrangement (see Figures 4A and 4B).

[0149] Furthermore, the special features of the packaging blanks 10 that can be attached to the article groups 20 by means of the application method according to the invention, which do not necessarily require pretreatment, will generally be explained using packaging blanks 10 that can be intended for the formation of six-unit packages in which a total of six similar articles 12 are grouped together.

[0150] However, it should be noted at this point that such packaging blanks 10 can also be significantly larger and may, for example, be suitable for grouping together article groups 20 of eight, twelve, twenty, twenty-four or more articles 12 or cans 26 in the manner described.

[0151] In this context, reference should also be made to Figures 3A to 3E, which in turn show a layout of a corresponding packaging blank 10 (Fig. 3A) and its application on a grouping of articles 20 (Fig. 3C) formed from four identical cans 26, without this being to be understood as a limitation, since the special features of the invention will be clarified further below with reference to such packaging blanks 10 in which a total of six articles 12 or

[0152] The 26 cans are grouped together in the manner described (see Figures 4A and 4B).

[0153] The cans 26 or beverage cans 26, which constitute the articles 12 to be grouped together as a packaging unit or container 18 (see Fig. 2D), can preferably be the same as those shown by way of example in top view in Fig. 2B. The packaging blanks 10 shown in Figures 3A to 30 can also optionally be larger and have more than four openings 14. In particular, they can have six openings 14, as will be explained below with reference to Figures 4A to 4C.

[0154] Figure 3A shows an untreated packaging blank 10, which may have been cut from a cardboard sheet, for example, by a die-cutting process. In contrast, the top view in Figure 3B illustrates such a packaging blank 10 according to Figure 3A, which has undergone pretreatment and is therefore designated by the reference numeral 10v. Figure 3C shows a packaging unit or container 18 formed by four articles 12 in the form of cans 26, which are grouped and mechanically held together by means of a pretreated packaging blank 10v applied to the articles 12 or cans 26.

[0155] The sectional views of Figures 3D and 3E also show a partial area of ​​such a packaging blank 10 or 10v, in particular a partial area showing the passage opening 14 according to Figures 3A and 3B in a cross-sectional view.

[0156] As can be seen in Figures 3A and 3B, the packaging blank 10 has four through-openings 14 with an average or mean diameter d14. In the edge regions 16 that define each of the through-openings 14, so-called fixing or retaining tabs 38 are formed. The fixing or retaining tabs 38 are formed, in particular, by radial incisions 40 extending from the through-openings 14. The radial incisions 40 extend from the inner edge region 16 of each through-opening 14 outwards, i.e., towards a diameter larger than the actual dimension d14 of the respective through-openings 14. The radial incisions 40 can be distributed regularly and in greater numbers around the round through-openings 14, as schematically indicated in Figure 3A.

[0157] When the packaging blank 10 is pressed onto suitable stretching tools 24, as described below in connection with Figures 5 to 11, or by other suitable forming devices, these fixing or retaining tabs 38 are at least partially pressed and / or bent in the same direction as required by the subsequent application process. Since the fixing or retaining tabs 38 deflect upwards and thus in the opposite direction to the application direction during an application process of the packaging blank 10 according to Fig. 2C, it is therefore advantageous to also bend and pre-form them in the same direction by means of the stretching tools 24, provided that the prior use of stretching tools 24 before the actual application process is intended at all. The resulting, if applicable,After such a pre-treatment step, the pre-formed and pre-stretched fixing or retaining tabs 38 now project upwards beyond the plane of the packaging blank 10 or 10v in which the passage openings 14 are located, which is shown schematically in the sectional view of Fig. 3E.

[0158] The fact that pretreating the packaging blanks 10 is merely an option, but not a mandatory process step that must precede the application of the packaging blanks 10 to the article groupings 20, has already been mentioned several times above and is added again here for the sake of completeness.

[0159] By pressing upwards and / or bending the fixing or retaining tabs 38 upwards, the mean diameter of such a pre-treated passage opening 14 increases, which is characterized by the use of the reference numeral d14v. In particular, the mean diameter d14 of a passage opening 14 of a packaging blank 10 before pre-treatment is smaller than the mean diameter d14v of a passage opening 14v of a packaging blank 10v after pre-treatment. Thus, in this context, such a pre-treated or widened passage opening 14 is designated by the reference numeral 14v (see Fig. 3E).

[0160] However, the increased mean diameter d14v of such a pre-treated passage opening 14v after pre-treatment is preferably still at least slightly less than a maximum mean diameter of the articles 12 in their upper region, in particular in an upper region which is located in the finished container 18 above the packaging blank 10v fixed to the articles 12.

[0161] Since the fixing or retaining tabs 38 of a single passage opening 14 can also be pretreated in different ways around their circumference, the terms used here, namely the mean diameter d14 of a passage opening 14 or the mean diameter d14v of a passage opening 14v of a packaging blank 10v after pretreatment, are primarily intended to clarify the basic process and effects of such pretreatment, since according to the present invention the individual retaining tabs 38 of a passage opening 14 can be pretreated or prefolded to different extents, and since, furthermore, according to a variant of the present invention, the retaining tabs 38 of adjacent passage openings 14 of a packaging blank can be pretreated or prefolded to different extents (see in particular Figures 4A and 4B).

[0162] Preferably, in the finished container 18, the fixing or retaining tabs 38 are engaged with the underside of the respective lid edge 28 of the individual cans 26 in such a way that the packaging blank 10 or 10v is firmly fixed to the cans 26 and thus can no longer slip upwards (see also Fig. 2D).

[0163] The schematic top view in Fig. 4A also shows an untreated, flat packaging blank 10, formed, for example, from a thin and sufficiently stiff cardboard material, which has a rectangular main surface 42 with punched-out openings 14 distributed throughout it. The six identically sized punched-out openings 14, each serving to receive articles 12 or cans 26 (see Figures 2A to 3E) that can be snapped into them, are distributed in a 2x3 rectangular arrangement over the main surface 42 of the packaging blank 10.

[0164] In addition, two access openings 44 are provided between the two rows of three through-holes arranged parallel to the longitudinal sides. These through-holes allow for manual access when carrying a container 18 formed by the packaging blank 10 and six articles 12 or cans 26 held together by it. The access openings 44 are each significantly smaller in diameter than the through-holes 14 for the cans 26. They are located in the center of each of the two groups of four through-holes 14, which overlap in the central pair of openings.

[0165] As previously explained with reference to Figures 3A to 3E, each of the passage openings 14 is designed such that, starting from an inner or middle diameter d14 (see Fig. 3D), a total of sixteen identical retaining tabs 38 of the same width are formed, each of which has a material connection or material bridge 46 to the main surface 42 only on its rear side facing away from the inner diameter, while its side flanks 48 bordering adjacent retaining tabs 38 are separated from each other by the radial incisions 40 mentioned above (see Figures 3A and 3B), so that each individual fixing or retaining tab 38 is connected to the main surface 42 of the packaging blank 10 only by its rear material bridges 46, while its other three sides are unconnected.

[0166] Thus, the sixteen fixing or retaining tabs 38 at the edge regions 16 of each passage opening 14 each have a trapezoidal shape, in which the material bridge 46 to the main surface 42 is slightly wider than the front free end face 50 pointing towards the center of the respective passage opening 14. When a can 26 is inserted into the passage opening 14 and is locked in place, this front free end face 50 rests against the outer surface of the can 26 immediately below the lid edge 28, particularly in the area of ​​the taper or constriction 30 above the outer surface 32 of the respective can 26 (see Figures 2C and 2D). In addition to the trapezoidal shape of the respective fixing or retaining tabs 38, other shapes are also conceivable, e.g., jagged.

[0167] Although the embodiments of the packaging blanks 10 and 10v shown in Figures 4A and 4B each have through-openings 14 with a total of sixteen identical fixing or retaining tabs 38, such a subdivision of the edge regions 16 with the corresponding number of radial incisions 40 for separating the tabs 38 from one another is merely exemplary. Alternatively, significantly more or significantly fewer fixing or retaining tabs 38 distributed around the circumference of the edge regions 16 can be provided. The appropriate subdivision can be selected depending on the desired length of the fixing or retaining tabs 38, their preferred stiffness or elasticity, and the desired joining forces 36 (see Fig. 2C) when snapping the packaging blank 10 or 10v with the respective grouping of articles 20.

[0168] The fact that the front end face 50 has a shorter length than the approximately parallel material bridge 46 to the main surface 42 of the packaging blank 10 necessarily results from the differing diameters on which the front end faces 50 and the material bridges 46 lie. The undeformed fixing tabs or retaining tabs 38, whose surfaces lie parallel to the main surface 42 (see Fig. 3D), define the smallest possible inner diameter or mean diameter d14 of the passage openings 14.

[0169] As can be seen in Fig. 4A, the radial incisions 40 can be slightly widened towards the front end faces 50. This can be achieved during the punching process by removing a narrow separation area between two adjacent fixing or retaining tabs 38. This results in the more pronounced trapezoidal shape of the fixing or retaining tabs 38, as illustrated in the drawing, since the side flanks 48 converge more distinctly towards the front free end face 50 than would be the case with incisions 40 where the side flanks 48 are in contact, i.e., without material removal between them.

[0170] One special feature of the packaging blank 10 shown in Fig. 4A should be noted here, as the drawing shows that not all fixing or retaining tabs 38 have the same length. In each of the six openings 14, which are all identical in design and evenly distributed over the main surface 42, four fixing or retaining tabs 38 are significantly longer than the other twelve tabs 38, so that they extend considerably further into the center of each opening 14.

[0171] These four extended fixing or retaining tabs 38 are arranged in pairs opposite each other, with the adjacent extended tabs 38 being offset by 90°, resulting in three shorter tabs 38 between each pair of adjacent extended tabs 38. A tongue of the extended tabs 38 projecting beyond the remaining twelve shorter tabs 38 shall be designated in this context by reference numeral 39. Some of these tongues 39 are indicated graphically in Fig. 4A by reference numerals and reference lines, but only at the two lower through-openings 14, in order to avoid cluttering the drawing. As shown in Fig.As can also be seen in Fig. 4A, these tongues 39 projecting beyond the front end faces 50 of the other tabs 38 are indeed designed as continuous extensions of the respective fixing or holding tabs 38, but on each of these extended fixing or holding tabs 38 there is a fold line 51 exactly at the point where the shorter fixing or holding tabs 38 end with their front end faces 50, which serves as a folding edge for the extensions on these tabs 38, i.e. for the tongues 39, since these can be folded over by 180° according to Fig. 4B and placed on top of the sections of the tabs 38 located in front of them.

[0172] Such optional folding of the tabs 39 creates the impression of uniformly long fixing or retaining tabs 38 across the entire edge area 16 of each of the passage openings 14, as shown in the top view of Fig. 4B. However, the folded tabs 39 are still visible there, since the extended tabs 38 also have an overall trapezoidal outer contour, so that the narrower tabs 39 remain visible on the wider remaining tab 38. In the packaging blank 10v pretreated in this way by folding the tabs 39, as shown in Fig. 4B, the fold lines 51 thus form the front end faces 50 of the respective fixing or retaining tabs 38.

[0173] These four previously extended retaining tabs 38, due to their doubled material thickness after folding, each offer reinforced front end faces 50, which can therefore form particularly resistant and stable retaining edges for the articles 12 or cans 26 locked into the passage openings 14.

[0174] Finally, it should be noted once again that the provision of some of the tabs 38 with the described tongues 39 is merely an option which can be varied, e.g. by fewer such extended tabs 38 or by more than four extended tabs 38 per passage opening 14, which can also be omitted entirely.

[0175] The schematic representation in Fig. 5 shows a possible embodiment of a packaging machine 2 according to the invention, which can be equipped with different configurations of handling robots, particularly in the area of ​​its pretreatment module 6 and in the area of ​​its packaging module 8, in order to use different available stretching dies 22 as needed, which may be necessary for the pretreatment of different packaging blanks 10. However, the stretching dies 22 can also be omitted if, for example, the packaging blanks 10 are to be applied directly to the article groupings 20 without prior pretreatment, as is shown by way of example and as an option in Figures 7A ff.

[0176] The schematic representation in Fig. 5 shows a practically applicable embodiment of the packaging device 2, which is equipped with a feeder 4 for conveying groups of articles 20 in a defined conveying direction on a horizontal conveyor 52 or similar conveying device provided for this purpose. The groups of articles 20 conveyed on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeder 4 each comprise a defined number of articles 12 or cans 26, whereby this number and the arrangement of the articles 12 or cans 26 relative to each other can differ within the respective grouping 20, so that differently designed packaging blanks 10 may be required to combine the groupings 20 into packaging units or containers 18.

[0177] Since the transport direction or conveying direction of the horizontal conveying device 52 points perpendicularly into the plane of the drawing or points perpendicularly out of it, it is not shown separately in Fig. 8.

[0178] The pretreatment module 6 of the packaging machine 2 according to Fig. 5 comprises at least one pre-breaking station 54, which is arranged on the left side of the feeding device 4. In the immediate vicinity of the pre-breaking station 54 is a magazine 56 for the respective required variant of packaging blanks 10, which are not yet pretreated, and whose openings 14 can be punched there in an arrangement and configuration suitable for the articles 12 or cans 26 with regard to their spacing and / or dimensions.

[0179] In order to remove the respective packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56 and feed them to the nearby pre-breaking station 54, a first handling robot 58 can be provided in the embodiment of the packaging machine 2 shown in Fig. 5, the preferably multi-axis movable swivel arm 60 of which is equipped with a gripper head 62 that is able to remove the packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56 and feed them to the ready pre-breaking station 54.

[0180] The pre-breaking station 54 shown in Fig. 5 can, as illustrated therein, in particular have a number of stretching tools 24 on its stretching die 22, corresponding to the number of openings 14 in the packaging blanks 10 to be processed. These stretching tools 24 can in particular each be formed by stretching cones 64 or similar tools with which the openings 14 can be widened as required, in particular by pre-folding the fixing or retaining tabs 38 (see Figures 4A and 4B).

[0181] If such pretreatment of the packaging blanks 10 is to be carried out, after pretreatment at the pre-breaking station 54, the pretreated packaging blanks 10v can be placed by a second handling robot 66 onto the respective grouping of articles 20 on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4 in order to form the packaging units or containers 18, as has already been described in detail above.

[0182] Preferably, the second handling robot 66 also has a multi-axis movable swivel arm 60 with a gripper head 62, which is able to take the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v from the expansion die 22 of the pre-breaking station 54 and feed them to the article grouping 20 on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4 in order to press and apply the pre-treated packaging blank 10v to the top side, as has already been explained above.

[0183] As shown schematically in the illustration of Fig. 5, the gripper heads 52 of the two handling robots 58 and 66, i.e., of the first and second handling robots 58 and 66, can interlock in a coordinated manner or simultaneously access the packaging blank 10 or 10v. If, for example, the gripper head 62 of the first handling robot 58, with which the packaging blanks 10 to be pre-treated are taken from the magazine 56 and fed to the expansion die 22 of the pre-breaking station 54, is designed in a rake-like manner, then suction cups or similar gripping elements of the gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66 can engage there or reach between the rake elements of the first gripper head 62 in order to take over the pre-treated packaging blank 10v and feed it to the ready article grouping 20 and apply it there.

[0184] In the illustration of Fig. 5, the gripper head 62, guided on the swivel arm 60 of the first handling robot 58, is located at the pre-breaking station 54 with the packaging blank 10 held therein and presses the packaging blank 10 onto the upwardly tapered stretching tool 24 of the stretching die 22 of the pre-breaking station 54. This stretches the openings of the packaging blank 10 as desired by means of the stretching tools 24 of the stretching die 22 formed by the stretching cones 64 described above, so that the pre-treated packaging blank 10v can be placed onto the article grouping 20 by means of the second handling robot 66.

[0185] However, it should be noted at this point that the described handling steps, i.e., the removal of the packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56, their placement on the expansion die 22, and the removal of the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v from the expansion die 22 in order to apply them to the articles 12, can also be carried out by a single handling robot 58 or 66, if it has a corresponding reach of its gripper head 62 moved on the swivel arm 60 and a corresponding program control.

[0186] Additionally, it should be noted that there is also the possibility that the first handling robot 58 takes the packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56 and places them on the stretching die, whereas the second handling robot 66 presses the packaging blank 10 onto the stretching die in order to pretreat it and then applies the pretreated packaging blank 10v to the article grouping 20.

[0187] Furthermore, it should be noted again at this point that the pre-breaking and pre-treatment of the packaging blanks 10 may also be omitted, so that the remaining handling steps can, in principle, be carried out by a single handling robot 58 or 66. In this case, it essentially involves removing the stacked packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56 and transferring them to the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4 in order to apply the packaging blank 10 there to the provided article groupings 20. However, since this is a rolling application movement, a correspondingly modified program control of the handling robot 58 or 66 and / or additional measures are required to warp the packaging blank 10 in the desired manner. The schematic representation of Fig.5 further reveals a control center 68, which controls at least the first handling robot 58 and its movements when removing the packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56 and feeding them to the pre-breaking station 54, as well as the second handling robot 66 in its movements in connection with removing the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v from the pre-breaking station 54 and also when pressing the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v onto the articles 12 or cans 26 of the respective available article groupings 20.

[0188] The control center 68 supplies corresponding control signals 70 to the two handling robots 58 and 66. The fact that the data connection between the control center 68 and the handling robots 58 and 66 consists of double arrows each designated with the reference numeral 70 is intended to express that the handling robots 58 and 66 can preferably also each supply sensor signals of different types to the control center 68 in order to facilitate the precise motion control of the swivel arms 60 and the gripper heads 62.

[0189] Furthermore, Fig. 5 shows an optional optical sensor device 72, which can be formed in particular by a camera 74 with downstream image evaluation. This optional optical sensor device 72 or camera 74 with its downstream image evaluation can be spatially and functionally assigned to the horizontal conveying device 52. Its task can be, in particular, to monitor the finished packaging units or containers 18 equipped with the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v, whereby the image evaluation can be specifically aimed at checking whether all tabs 38 are correctly engaged at the through-openings 14 of the packaging blanks 10 and / or whether the packaging blank 10 is properly locked to the articles 12 or cans 26 and is located in the intended horizontal plane.

[0190] The optional optical sensor device 72 or camera 74 also sensibly delivers its image signals 76 to the control center 68, in which the suitable image evaluation can be located in order to obtain the desired or required information on the condition of the finished packaging units or containers 18 from the image signals 76.

[0191] Furthermore, the control center 68 can optionally be equipped with an external

[0192] The data storage device 78 is connected, which can be, for example, a data cloud 80. The data 82 exchanged between the external data storage device 78 or the data cloud 80 and the control center 68 is also indicated by a double arrow, which is intended to characterize the bidirectionality of the data exchange.

[0193] Furthermore, the control center 68 can be usefully coupled with the feeding device 4 and with the pretreatment module 6, which is not illustrated in the representation of Fig. 5.

[0194] The schematic top view of Fig. 6 also illustrates a further embodiment of the packaging machine 2 according to the invention, which differs in some details from the embodiment of the packaging machine 2 shown in Fig. 5, but in many respects corresponds to this embodiment, which will be discussed in detail below.

[0195] In the embodiment of the packaging machine 2 shown in Fig. 6, the feeding device 4 for conveying the article groups 20 in a defined conveying direction 84 is visible on the horizontal conveying device 52 provided for this purpose. The conveying direction 84 of the horizontal conveying device 52 points from bottom to top in the illustration of Fig. 6.

[0196] In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the article groupings 20 conveyed on the horizontal conveying device 52 of the feeding device 4 each comprise twenty articles 12 or cans 26, which are grouped and arranged in a rectangular arrangement, so that the appropriately configured packaging blanks 10 are kept ready for these article groupings 20 and pretreated as required in order to be able to combine the groupings 20 into packaging units or containers 18 in the manner described above.

[0197] The pretreatment module 6 of the packaging machine 2 according to Fig. 6 can comprise a first pre-breaking station 54, which is arranged to the left of the feeding device 4. A second pre-breaking station 86 can also be provided, which is likewise located to the left of the feeding device 4 and – with respect to the conveying direction 84 – below the first pre-breaking station 54. In the immediate vicinity of the first pre-breaking station 54 is the first magazine 56 for a first variant of packaging blanks 10, which are not yet pre-treated and whose openings can be punched there in a first arrangement (not shown here).In the immediate vicinity of the second pre-breaking station 86, a second magazine 88 for a second variant of packaging blanks 10, which are not yet pre-treated, may be located, and whose passage openings may each be punched there in a second arrangement (also not shown here), wherein the distances and / or sizes of the passage openings of the packaging blanks 10 of the first magazine 56 differ from the distances and / or sizes of the passage openings of the packaging blanks 10 of the optionally available second magazine 88, so that the untreated packaging blanks 10 of the first magazine 56 are not suitable for being pre-treated with a stretch die 22 which is matched to the distances and / or sizes of the packaging blanks 10 of the second magazine 88, and vice versa.

[0198] As indicated in Fig. 6 by the interrupted line for the second magazine 88 of the second pre-breaking station 86, this second pre-breaking station 86, together with its second magazine 88, is to be understood merely as an option for the packaging machine 2, and not as a mandatory feature. Since, according to the present invention, application processes for the packaging blanks 10 are also possible without prior pretreatment using stretch dies, both the first pre-breaking station 54 and the second pre-breaking station 86 are to be understood as optional features, and not as mandatory machine components.However, at least the first magazine 56 can be considered a mandatory machine component, because at least one variant of packaging blanks 10 must be kept ready in order to be available for the application processes for the production of the containers 18, regardless of whether these application processes are preceded by a pretreatment step or not.

[0199] To remove the packaging blanks 10 from the first magazine 56 of the first pre-breaking station 54 and feed them to the first expansion die 22a located nearby, a handling robot or multi-axis robot (not shown here) can be provided, whose preferably multi-axis movable swivel arm has a suitably equipped gripper head that is able to remove the packaging blanks 10 from the first magazine 56 and feed them to the first expansion die 22a suitable for each blank (see Fig. 5).

[0200] This first expansion die 22a of the first pre-crushing station 54 can, for example, be equipped with a matrix of uniformly distributed expansion cones 64 according to the schematic representation of Fig. 6, so that the passage openings of the packaging blanks placed there can be widened and pretreated to the desired extent in a mechanically effective manner.

[0201] After pretreatment in the first pre-breaking station 54, the pretreated packaging blanks 10v can be placed on the respective grouping of articles 20 on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4 by means of the handling robot (not shown here), which is preferably located near the horizontal conveyor 52 and in this case accesses the first pre-breaking station 54, in order to form the packaging units or containers 18, as has already been described in detail above.

[0202] If the grouping of articles 20 transported on the horizontal conveyor 52 in the conveying direction 84 has a different configuration, it may be necessary to access the differently configured packaging blanks 10 from the second magazine 88, if any, and thus to use the second pre-crushing station 86.

[0203] To remove the suitable packaging blanks 10 from the second magazine 88 of the second pre-breaking station 86 and feed them to the second stretching die 22b located nearby, the embodiment of the packaging machine 2 shown in Fig. 6 can optionally be equipped with a further handling robot or multi-axis robot (not shown here), whose preferably multi-axis movable swivel arm has a suitably equipped gripper head capable of removing the packaging blanks 10 from the second magazine 88 and feeding them to the corresponding second stretching die 22b in the area of ​​the second pre-breaking station 86. Alternatively, a single handling robot with a sufficient range of motion for its swivel arm and gripper head can be used to handle the packaging blanks from both the first magazine 56 and the second magazine 88.

[0204] In the second die 22b of the second pre-crushing station 86, the expansion cones 64 can, for example, have different dimensions or different spacing than in the first die 22a of the first pre-crushing station 54, so that packaging blanks 10 with differently dimensioned and / or differently spaced through-holes can be pre-treated in the same way. After pre-treatment in the second pre-crushing station 86, the appropriately pre-treated packaging blanks 10v can be placed by the handling robot accessing the second pre-crushing station 86 onto the respective grouping of articles 20 on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4, in order to form the corresponding packaging units or containers 18.

[0205] As indicated in Fig. 6 by the interrupted line for the second die 22b of the second pre-crushing station 86, not only is the second pre-crushing station 86, including its second magazine 88, to be understood merely as an option for the packaging machine 2, and not as a mandatory feature, but this also applies to the second die 22b. As mentioned, the entire second pre-crushing station 86, including the second magazine 88 and the second pre-crushing station 22b, is to be understood merely as an option, and not as a mandatory machine component.

[0206] Furthermore, the pretreatment module 6 of the packaging machine 2 according to Fig. 6 can have an optional third pre-breaking station 90, which can be arranged, for example, to the right of the feeding device 4 or above the feeding device 4. In the immediate vicinity of this optional third pre-breaking station 90, a third magazine 92 for a third variant of packaging blanks 10, which are not yet pretreated, can be arranged, and whose openings can be punched there in a third arrangement (not shown here).

[0207] In this context, for example, the required pretreatment steps or the extent of pretreatment for the penetration openings may differ from the previously mentioned pretreatments, as is evident in a third variant of the expansion die 22c, in which expansion cones 64 may be designed differently, dimensioned differently and / or spaced differently from each other than in the first die 22a and the second die 22b, so that articles 12 or cans 26 grouped differently in different dimensions can be equipped with correspondingly configured packaging blanks 10.

[0208] To remove the packaging blanks 10 from the third magazine 92 of the third pre-breaking station 90 and feed them to the third expansion die 22c located nearby, an additional handling robot (not shown here) is optionally provided in the embodiment of the packaging machine 2 shown in Fig. 6. This robot's preferably multi-axis movable swivel arm has a suitably equipped gripper head capable of removing the packaging blanks 10 from the third magazine 92 and feeding them to the appropriate third expansion die 22c. After pre-treatment in the third pre-breaking station 90, the pre-treated packaging blanks 10 can again be conveyed by means of the conveyor located near the horizontal conveying device 52, which in this case may be equipped with a spooling mechanism.The handling robot (not shown here) also accesses the third pre-crushing station 90 and places the article grouping 20, which is available on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4, on top of each other in order to form the packaging units or containers 18, as has already been described in detail above.

[0209] It should be noted again at this point that each of the first, second, and / or third pre-crushing stations 54, 86, and / or 90 shown in Fig. 6 can be considered optional or as an additional pre-crushing station 54, 86, and / or 90. The arrangement and positioning of the respective pre-crushing station(s) 54, 86, and / or 90 can also depend on the space available at the packaging machine 2 and, more generally, on the prevailing space constraints of the packaging machine 2. At least one of the three pre-crushing stations 54, 86, and / or 90 shown can optionally be omitted if it is possible to work with two pre-crushing stations 54, 86, and / or 90 and / or if the expansion dies 22a, 22b, and / or 22c are, for example, designed to be interchangeable or convertible.

[0210] The third pre-crushing station 90 and the third expansion die 22c are also shown in broken lines in Fig. 6 to emphasize the optional nature of these machine components.

[0211] It should be noted at this point that the optional equipment of the packaging machine 2 according to Fig. 5, which may include an optical sensor device 72, which may in particular be formed by a camera 74 with downstream image evaluation, may also be present in the embodiment of the packaging machine 2 according to Fig. 6. This optional optical sensor device 72 or camera 74 with its downstream image evaluation can be assigned to the horizontal conveying device 52. Its function can be, in particular, to monitor the finished and, if applicable, the packaging machine.Pre-treated packaging blanks 10 or 10v equipped packaging units or containers 18 are located, the image evaluation being directed in particular to verify whether all tabs on the through-openings of the packaging blanks 10 are correctly engaged and / or whether the respective packaging blank is properly locked to the articles 12 or cans 26 and is located in the intended horizontal plane. As explained above, the optional optical sensor device 72 or camera 74 delivers its image signals 76 in particular to the control center 68, in which the suitable image evaluation system can be located to obtain the desired or required information on the condition of the finished packaging units or containers 18 from the image signals 76 (see Fig. 5).

[0212] Furthermore, the control unit 68 (not shown in Fig. 6) can optionally be connected to an external data storage device 78, which may, for example, be a data cloud 80. The above also applies here, so that the control unit 68 and the data-related device 78 or 80 connected to it can also be part of the packaging machine 2 according to Fig. 6, as already explained above with reference to Fig. 5.

[0213] The schematic side views of Figures 7A to 7D further illustrate an application variant in which a packaging blank 10v pretreated by means of a stretching die 22 is pressed onto the tops of cans 26 of an article grouping 20 in a rolling motion sequence.

[0214] Figure 7A shows part of the configuration of a pre-breaking station 54, which is already schematically illustrated in Figure 5 and forms part of the pre-treatment module 6 of the packaging machine 2. Also shown is the associated magazine 56, located in close proximity to the expansion die 22 of the pre-breaking station 54, containing the stacked packaging blanks 10, as well as part of the gripper head 62, which can be guided, in particular, on the movable swivel arm 60 of the handling robot 58 shown in Figure 5.

[0215] In the illustration of Fig. 7A, a single packaging blank 10, which was taken from the magazine 56, hangs on the gripper head 62 in order to be fed to the expansion die 22 with its expansion tools 24, formed by several expansion cones 64, and placed there.

[0216] Furthermore, Fig. 7A illustrates another phase of the handling of a pre-treated packaging blank 10v, which may, for example, be guided by the gripper head 62 of a second handling robot (see Fig. 5), not shown in detail here. This pre-treated packaging blank 10v, which was previously pre-treated, in particular by means of the first handling robot (see Fig. 5), on the first expansion die 22a, is already located directly above a grouping of articles 20, which consists of several articles 12 or cans 26, which are conveyed standing upright on the horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4 in the conveying direction 84 (from left to right).

[0217] The schematic side views of figures 7B, 70 and 7D also illustrate successive process steps in applying the pre-treated packaging blank 10v by means of the gripper head 62 of the handling robot used for applying the packaging blank 10v to the top of the article grouping 20, which is guided in a rolling motion. Its swivel arm is preferably controlled in such a way that its gripper head 62 applies the pre-treated packaging blank 10v to the articles 12 or cans 26 in a rolling or unrolling motion as shown, by first placing the packaging blank 10v at an angle and applying it to the upper side of the articles 12 or cans 26 located at the rear in the conveying direction 84 (see Fig. 7B), then pivoting in the further application movement and also placing it on the articles 12 or cans 26 located at the front in the conveying direction 84 (see Fig. 7C) and finally applying it (Fig. 7D).

[0218] The schematic side views in Figures 7B and 70 particularly illustrate a pronounced pivoting movement of the gripper head 62, together with the packaging blank 10v held on its underside, about a virtual transverse axis (not shown here), which lies transverse to the conveying direction 84 and approximately horizontally just above the grouping of items 20. The initial pivoting movement (Fig. 7B) can involve an angle of up to 20° with a horizontal plane to achieve the rolling motion.

[0219] The schematic side view of Fig. 7D also shows that after pressing the packaging blank 10v onto the tops of the articles 12 or cans 26 of the article grouping 20, i.e., after the final pressing of the packaging blank 10v onto the can 26 located furthest forward in the conveying direction 84, the gripper head 62 can be pivoted further by a small angle, while at the same time the gripper head 62 releases the packaging blank 10v, since otherwise there would be a risk of detaching the packaging blank 10v again from the cans 26 located further back in the transport direction 84.

[0220] The variant shown in Figures 7A to 7D for pretreating a packaging blank 10 on the stretching die 22 and subsequently applying it to a group of articles 20, while simultaneously performing a rolling motion of the gripper head 62 that at least partially warps the pretreated packaging blank 10v, is not to be understood as restrictive in that the use of the pre-breaking station 54 with its stretching die, as illustrated therein, is to be considered mandatory. Rather, it has already been pointed out at various points above that the application processes according to the invention can optionally be carried out with unpretreated packaging blanks 10 or with pretreated packaging blanks 10v without this having a significant influence on the actual application process.The process steps shown in Figures 7B to 7D can also be carried out without restrictions with packaging blanks 10 that are taken directly from the magazine 56 and applied to the article grouping 20 by means of the gripper head 62.

[0221] The schematic side views in Figures 8A to 8F illustrate an alternative application variant, in which a packaging blank 10v, pretreated by means of a stretching die 22, is pressed onto the tops of cans 26 of a grouping of articles 20 in a rolling motion. However, in this variant, the gripper head 62 itself is equipped with actuators which, in addition to the rolling motion of the application head 62, allow the packaging blank 10 or 10v to be further warped, which will be explained in more detail below in individual process steps.

[0222] Figure 8A shows a portion of the configuration of a pre-breaking station 54, which is schematically illustrated in Figure 5 and forms part of the pre-treatment module 6 of the packaging machine 2, optionally of such or a similar packaging machine 2 as shown schematically in Figure 5. Also shown is the associated magazine 56, located in close proximity to the expansion die 22 of the pre-breaking station 54, containing the stacked packaging blanks 10, as well as a portion of the gripper head 62, which can be guided, in particular, on the movable swivel arm 60 of the first handling robot 58 shown in Figure 5 (not shown in detail here, but see Figure 5).

[0223] In Fig. 8A, a single packaging blank 10, which has been taken from the magazine 56, is suspended from the underside of the gripper head 62 of the first handling robot 58. This blank is then fed to the stretching die 22 with its stretching tools 24, formed by several stretching cones 64, and placed on the die. Fig. 8A further illustrates another phase of handling a packaging blank 10 or 10v placed on the stretching die 22, which is to be pre-treated or has already been pre-treated. This blank may, for example, be guided by the gripper head 62 of a second handling robot 66 (see Fig. 5), which is not shown in detail here. This packaging blank 10 or 10v, which is to be pretreated or has already been pretreated and which was previously fed to the expansion die 22 or the first expansion die 22a, in particular by means of the gripper head 62 of the first handling robot 58 (see Fig. 5), in order to be pretreated there if necessary, is shown in the illustration of the Fig.8A is gripped by the gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66 to be removed from the expansion die 22 and fed to the article grouping 20, in order to be applied to the top side in the manner explained below.

[0224] Fig. 8A also shows a grouping of articles 20, which is formed by several articles 12 or cans 26, which are conveyed standing on the horizontal conveying device 52 of the feeding device 4 in conveying direction 84 (from left to right).

[0225] The schematic side view of Fig. 8B, which shows essentially the same components and details as Fig. 8A, reveals an immediately subsequent process phase in which the pre-treated packaging blank 10v has already been lifted from the expansion die 22 or 22a of the pre-breaking station 54 by the gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66 performing an upward lifting movement. This lifting movement, which has distanced the pre-treated packaging blank 10v from the pre-breaking station 54, is also superimposed with a slight lateral movement to approach the grouping of articles 20 that are ready or moving on the horizontal conveying direction 52 of the feeding device 4.

[0226] The schematic side view in Fig. 8C clearly illustrates the special features of the variant for handling the packaging blanks 10 shown in Figures 8A to 8F. The gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66 is still in the same position as in the previous process phase according to Fig. 8B. However, in the variant shown here, the gripper head 62 is modified so that it can not only grasp the packaging blank 10 or 10v from below and hold it in the same planar shape as when it was taken from the magazine 56 and later snapped onto the articles 12 or cans 26 in the finished container 18.The gripper head 62 is equipped with several adjustable punches 94, each of which can be moved downwards from the underside of the gripper head 62 with a defined stroke, so that the packaging blank 10 or 10v, held in its original position at the edges, is significantly convex downwards in its central area, acquiring a bulbous contour, as illustrated by example in Fig. 80. Just two such vertically adjustable punches 94 on the underside of the gripper head 62 can produce the desired convexity of the packaging blank 10 or 10v if it is held in position at its edges, i.e., at its front and rear edges with respect to the conveying direction 84.

[0227] This edge-side fixation of the packaging blank 10 or 10v can be achieved, for example, by means of suction elements 96 arranged on the underside of the gripper head 62. These suction elements are preferably activatable for gripping and holding the packaging blank 10, 10v and deactivatable for its release (see Fig. 8F), which should sensibly be carried out by the machine control, e.g., by the control unit 68 (see Fig. 5). The suction force of these suction elements 96 is preferably sufficiently strong to reliably prevent the packaging blank 10, 10v from being detached from the suction elements 96, even when the punches 94 are extended and the packaging blank 10, 10v is convex.

[0228] The punches 94 can also optionally be equipped with suction devices to better fix the packaging blank 10, 10v to the underside of the gripper arm 62, although this is not strictly necessary for the desired functionality. The movement control of the punches 94 between their end stops can also be sensibly carried out by a machine control system, e.g., by corresponding control commands from the control unit 68 (see Fig. 5).

[0229] The schematic view in Fig. 8D shows an alternative embodiment of a gripper head 62, whose retaining elements arranged on its underside can be suspended from a flexible support element 98 for receiving, fixing, and positioning. The support element 98, together with the retaining elements suspended on its underside—i.e., essentially with the suction elements 96 and the punches 94—can be formed as a whole into the desired convex shape. The punches 94 do not need to be adjustable in their stroke but retain their relative positions with respect to the convex support element 98, as well as their fixed lengths. Such a support element 98, as shown schematically in Fig. 8D, can, for example, be realized by a so-called back-stiffening chain 100, which can be brought into a planar shape by tension in its longitudinal direction, i.e., in the horizontal direction (Fig.8D above), while under decreasing tensile forces it can transition into the bulbous shape shown in Fig. 8D below. The properties of such a back-stiffening chain 100 ensure a uniform curvature during its deflection without it losing its shape. Furthermore, stop elements (not shown) in such back-stiffening chains 100 ensure that they do not sag shapelessly, but can assume a defined curvature, which also means maximum curvature.

[0230] The schematic side views in Figures 8E and 8F finally show the actual application of the packaging blank 10 or 10v, which has been pre-curved in a convex shape by means of the gripper head 62 as described above, onto the top of the article grouping 20, with the gripper head 62 again being guided in a similar unwinding motion as already shown in Figures 7B and 7C and explained above. The swivel arm of the handling robot used for applying the packaging blank 10v to the top of the article grouping 20 is preferably controlled in a similar manner as described above (see Figures 7B and 7C).Figures 7B and 7C), so that the gripper head 62 applies the pre-treated packaging blank 10v to the articles 12 or cans 26 in a rolling or unrolling motion as shown in Figures 8E and 8F, by first placing the packaging blank 10v at an angle and applying it to the upper side of the articles 12 or cans 26 located at the rear in the conveying direction 84 (see Fig. 8E), then pivoting in the further application movement and also placing it on the articles 12 or cans 26 located at the front in the conveying direction 84 (see Fig. 8F) and finally applying it (see, for example, Fig. 7D).

[0231] The schematic side views in Figures 8E and 8F particularly illustrate a pronounced pivoting movement of the gripper head 62, together with the packaging blank 10v held on its underside, about a virtual transverse axis (not shown here) that lies transverse to the conveying direction 84 and approximately horizontally above the grouping of items 20. The initial pivoting movement (Fig. 8E) can encompass an angle of up to 30° with a horizontal plane to achieve the rolling motion. Meanwhile, the punches 94 are moved out of the underside of the gripper head 62 to their maximum stroke as described above, so that the packaging blank 10 or 10v assumes the desired convex contour, as already shown in Fig. 80. This contour facilitates the rolling application of the packaging blank 10, 10v onto the tops of the articles 12 or cans 26, as illustrated by Fig. 8E.The edge suction elements 96 are activated so that the packaging blank 10, 10v retains the shown convex downward curved contour even while rolling on the tops of the articles 12 or cans 26.

[0232] The schematic side view of Fig. 7D also shows that after pressing the packaging blank 10v onto the tops of the articles 12 or cans 26 of the article grouping 20, i.e., after the final pressing of the packaging blank 10v onto the can 26 located furthest forward in the conveying direction 84, the gripper head 62 can be pivoted further by a small angle, while at the same time the gripper head 62 releases the packaging blank 10v, since otherwise there would be a risk of detaching the packaging blank 10v again from the cans 26 located further back in the transport direction 84.

[0233] The schematic side view of Fig. 8F shows that by further pivoting the gripper head 62, which in this view only encloses a very small angle of a few degrees with a horizontal plane, the suction element 96 at the rear in relation to the conveying direction 84 can be deactivated, while the plungers 94, which are still extended to their full stroke, move the packaging blank 10, 10v subsequently and in a rolling motion over the entire top of the article grouping 20 and press it down there, in a rolling motion with the same direction of movement as the conveying direction 84.

[0234] The gripper head 62 can then be tilted further forward, as shown in Fig. 7, until the front suction element 96 has also pressed the front edge of the packaging blank 10, 10v against the front edge of the top of the item grouping 20. This front suction element 96 can remain activated, as shown in Fig. 8F, until the packaging blank 10, 10v is completely applied to the item grouping 20, covering its entire surface and including all openings.Again, the further variant shown in Figures 8A to 8F for pretreating a packaging blank 10 on the expansion die 22 and for subsequent application to a grouping of articles 20, while simultaneously carrying out a rolling movement sequence of the gripper head 62 that at least partially warps the pretreated packaging blank 10v, as well as the warping of the packaging blank 10, 10v by activating the punches 94 and the suction elements 96 and / or the carrier element 98, is not to be understood as restrictive insofar as the use of the pre-breaking station 54 with its expansion die 22, 22a illustrated therein is to be considered mandatory.Rather, it has already been pointed out at various points above that the application processes according to the invention can be carried out either with untreated packaging blanks 10 or with pretreated packaging blanks 10v, without this having any significant influence on the actual application process. That is, the process steps shown in Figures 8B to 8F can also be carried out without restrictions with packaging blanks 10 that are taken directly from the magazine 56 and applied to the article grouping 20 by means of the gripper head 62.

[0235] The schematic side views in Figures 9A to 9D show a further modified version in which the gripper head 62 has a constantly curved contour, which can correspond approximately to the contour shown in Fig. 8D (below). However, the gripper head 62 shown in Figures 9A to 9D is not equipped with a deformable support element 98, e.g., formed by the aforementioned rigid chain 100 (see Fig. 8D below), but rather has a permanently curved support element 98.

[0236] In this case, the first handling robot 58 is required to remove the packaging blanks 10 from the magazine 56 and to transfer them to the pre-breaking station 54, since the second handling robot 66 has the gripper head 62 with the curved support element 98, which already requires a rolling or rolling motion of the gripper head 62 when picking up the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v from the pre-breaking station 54, as illustrated in Fig. 9A.

[0237] There, the gripper head 62 is placed on the packaging blank 10v resting on the expansion cones 64 in such a way that one of the suction elements 96 first comes into contact with an edge of the packaging blank 10v, so that in the further unwinding movement according to Fig. 9B the packaging blank 10v can be pulled off the expansion cones 64 successively until finally the other suction element 96 also comes into contact with the packaging blank 10v (see Fig. 9C).

[0238] Fig. 9D illustrates the packaging blank 10v held on the gripper head 62, which has the desired pre-curved contour, so that it can be placed on the article grouping 20 in almost the same way in a rolling motion sequence, as has already been illustrated in Figures 8E and 8F.

[0239] With the curved support element 98 of the gripper head 62, the punches 94 located between the edge suction elements 96 can have a constant length and do not need to be displaceable or have a variable stroke, because the contour of the packaging blank 10v picked up by the gripper head 62 thus follows the contour of the support element 98. The rolling movements for picking up the packaging blank 10v from the expansion die 22 and for applying the packaging blank 10v to the article grouping 20 are initiated exclusively by the corresponding motion control of the swivel arm of the handling robot 66 and thus of the gripper head 62 suspended from it.

[0240] In the variant of the packaging machine 2 according to Figures 10A and 10B, not only is the gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66 curved in the manner described above, as shown in Figures 9A to 9D and described above with reference to Figures 9A to 9B, but the stretching tools 24 are also inclined to each other in such a way that the packaging blank 10 can already be brought into the curved contour there, in which it can then subsequently be picked up by the gripper head 62 and applied to the article grouping 20 in a rolling motion sequence.

[0241] The expansion tools 24 of this expansion die 22, designated as the fourth expansion die 22d, which are each formed by expansion cones 64, are inclined to each other in the manner shown in Figures 10A and 10B, so that the packaging blank 10 receives the contour that allows rolling application on the respective top side of the article grouping 20 according to Figures 8E to 9D.

[0242] The first handling robot 58 can optionally, as shown in Fig. 10A, remove the packaging blanks 10 in their non-curved shape from the magazine 56 and place them in this form onto the fourth stretching die 22d. To not only pretreat the packaging blank 10 but also to transfer it into the curved structure so that the stretching cones 64 can penetrate the openings, it can be advantageous to use the gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66, which has the curvature shown, and subsequently also to use this gripper head 62 to transfer the packaging blank 10v and apply it to the article grouping 20. When pressing the packaging blank 10 onto the stretching tools 24, no rolling or sliding movement of the gripper head 62 is required; instead, it can be placed on the die in a vertical motion and pressed downwards.

[0243] Alternatively, the packaging blanks 10 can also be picked up from the magazine 56 using the curved gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66, as shown schematically and by way of example in Fig. 10B. In this variant, the entire handling of the packaging blanks 10, from their removal from the magazine 56 through pretreatment on the fourth die 22d to application onto the article groups 20, can be carried out using the same gripper head 62 of the second handling robot 66.

[0244] The above also applies to figures 9A to 9D and figures 10A to 10B, namely that pretreatment of the packaging blanks 10 using a stretching die of any kind is not absolutely necessary, since the rolling motion during the application of the packaging blanks 10 already ensures that they can be snapped into place with the tops of the articles 12 or cans 26 with reduced joining force.

[0245] Finally, a completely differently configured packaging machine 2 is illustrated by Fig. 11. There, too, groupings of articles 20 are conveyed upright on a horizontal conveyor 52 of the feeding device 4 in the conveying direction 84 (from left to right), whereby the articles 12 of the grouping 20 can again optionally consist of cans 26 or beverage cans 26. However, in this variant of the packaging machine 2, the packaging blanks 10 are provided by a third magazine 104, either in the folded arrangement shown or, for example, from a roll (not shown here), so that a continuous feed of the packaging blanks 10, which are connected in a material web 106, is possible. The connected material web 106 already has the openings, but is not yet divided into the individual packaging blanks 10.The material web 106 conveyed from the third magazine 104 is fed to a pre-crushing wheel 108, which forms the expansion die 22 and can be rotated, for example, with the conveying progress of the material web 106 in order to engage in the openings. Depending on the arrangement of the expansion tools 24 or expansion cones 64 located on the pre-crushing wheel 108 and depending on the coordination of the rotational movements of the pre-crushing wheel 108 with the conveying speed of the material web 106 guided along it, either all openings or only individual ones or, for example, every second opening can be pretreated in the manner described above, i.e., pre-expanded or pre-crushed.

[0246] The material web 106, with its pre-treated openings, can be guided over further guide rollers 110 after passing the pre-crush wheel 108 and fed to the article grouping unit 20, where it is divided, for example, by a rotating knife roller 112 into individual packaging blanks 10v, the size of which corresponds to the dimensions specified for the article groupings 20. The knife roller 112 can advantageously be located directly above the horizontal conveyor 52 with the articles 12 or cans 26 conveyed thereon, so that no further guide elements are required for handling the pre-treated packaging blanks 10v separated from the material web 106.

[0247] The schematic side view in Fig. 12 shows a packaging machine with a roll 200 wound with continuous material (web) on it. The continuous material preferably comprises at least 90%, and more preferably at least 95%, fiber material. The web 106 is optionally transported to a pre-crushing roll 201. Additional deflection rolls can be arranged between these (not shown). A counter-pressure roll 202 can be arranged opposite the pre-crushing roll 201.

[0248] Furthermore, the material web 106 is transported to an optional cutting roller 203, from which the material web can be divided into two or more material webs.

[0249] Optionally, additional deflection rollers positioned at an angle to each other may be provided to space the material webs apart (not shown). A further cutting roller 205 may be arranged shortly before or on the application roller 206, which can be used to cut the material web or webs into individual blanks in a transverse direction to the material web.

[0250] Alternatively, the roller at position 205 can also be a counter-pressure roller and the cutting elements are arranged in the application roller 206.

[0251] The application roller can be connected via a connecting line 208 to a vacuum or negative pressure source 207 of the packaging machine in order to hold the packaging blanks or the material web 106.

[0252] As an alternative to cutting across the longitudinal direction before applying to the articles, the cut pieces can also be cut into their final shape only after being applied to the articles, which is not shown here.

[0253] Optionally, a pushing device 209 can move the items during application. In this case, one of the surfaces (substrates) supporting the items may be immobile.

[0254] Instead of the application roller, a circulating belt can be provided to apply the cut pieces or the material web(s) (also not shown here).

[0255] The application roller 206 or the belt may have recesses into which the upper edges of the articles 12 dip upwards during application. In the case of cans or bottles as articles, the recesses may be cylindrical (not shown).

[0256] In particular, if the blanks are initially in the form of a material web 106, at least 10%, preferably at least 50%, of the path from their unwinding or from their magazine removal (see Figure 11) to their application to the articles can be covered as a material web.

[0257] In other words, the cut pieces, in their fully cut state, cover a maximum of 90% of their distance in the packaging machine.

[0258] The application roller 206 or the belt can be considered a manipulator within the meaning of the invention. The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it is conceivable to a person skilled in the art that modifications or changes to the invention can be made without departing from the scope of protection of the following claims.

[0259] Reference symbol list

[0260] 2 Packing machine

[0261] 4 Feeding device

[0262] 6 Pretreatment module, device for pretreating

[0263] Packaging cutouts

[0264] 8 Packaging module

[0265] 10 Packaging cutouts

[0266] 10v pre-treated packaging blank

[0267] 12 items

[0268] 14 Passage opening

[0269] 14v pretreated passage opening d14 mean diameter of a passage opening d14v mean diameter of a pretreated passage opening

[0270] 16 Edge area (of the passage opening)

[0271] 16v pretreated edge area

[0272] 18 containers, packaging unit

[0273] 20 Article grouping, article compilation

[0274] 22 Expansion die

[0275] 22a first expansion die

[0276] 22b second expansion die

[0277] 22c third expansion die

[0278] 22d fourth expansion die

[0279] 24 Stretching tool

[0280] 26 cans, beverage cans

[0281] 28 lid rim

[0282] 30. Tapering, constriction

[0283] 32 Surface area

[0284] 34 Closure, can closure

[0285] 36 Application force, joining force, pressure force

[0286] 38 retaining tabs, fixing tabs, tabs

[0287] 39 Tongue

[0288] 40 radial incisions, radial incisions

[0289] 42 main area

[0290] 44 Through-hole

[0291] 46 Material bridge side flank front face, front free face fold line

[0292] Horizontal conveyor

[0293] Pre-crushing station, first pre-crushing station

[0294] Magazine, first magazine, first handling robot, swivel arm

[0295] Gripper head

[0296] Expansion cone of the second handling robot

[0297] Control center

[0298] Control signals optical sensor device

[0299] camera

[0300] Image signals external data storage device

[0301] Data cloud exchanged data

[0302] Conveyor direction, transport direction, second pre-crushing station, second magazine, third pre-crushing station, third magazine

[0303] Rubber stamp

[0304] Suction element

[0305] Support element, rigid chain, third magazine

[0306] Material web, continuous material

[0307] Breakaway wheel

[0308] Leadership roles

[0309] knife roller

[0310] Roll, material web roll

[0311] Pre-crushing roller

[0312] Counter-pressure roller, counter-pressure roller, cutting roller, optional cutting roller, additional cutting roller, application roller, vacuum source, negative pressure source, vacuum or negative pressure source, connecting line, pushing element

Claims

- 65 - Claims 1. Packaging machine (2) for producing containers (18) which are each formed by at least two articles (12) grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank (10, 10v), wherein the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are equipped with through-openings (14) for receiving at least one article (12), through which through-openings (14) an article (12) passes and is preferably fixed there, - wherein the packaging machine (2) has at least one manipulator which is prepared and equipped accordingly to press the packaging blanks (10, 10v) onto the articles (12) during their respective application to the articles (12) in a movement sequence that is at least sectionally rolling and thereby convexing the respective packaging blank (10, 10v).

2. Packaging machine (2) according to claim 1, which has a pretreatment station (6) with at least one stretch die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) for pretreating the packaging blanks (10, 10v) and for weakening the packaging blanks (10, 10v) in the area of ​​their respective passage openings (14) for the purpose of reducing a joining force (36) when applying the packaging blanks (10, 10v) to the articles (12) passing through the passage openings (14) using the stretch die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d), - wherein the at least one manipulator of the packaging machine (2) is prepared and equipped accordingly to press the packaging blanks (10, 10v) onto the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) during their respective pretreatment using the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) in a movement sequence that is at least sectionally rolling and thereby warping the packaging blank (10, 10v).

3. Packaging machine (2) according to claim 1 or 2, in which the manipulator is formed by a multi-axis robot (58, 66).

4. Packaging machine (2) according to claim 3, in which the multi-axis robot receives its control commands for carrying out handling steps from a control device (68), which control device (68) can retrieve programs for several different movement paths for controlling the manipulator or a control head (62) of the multi-axis robot (58, 66). - 66 - has stored. the movement paths specified by the control device (68) by means of the programs stored therein each include the rolling movements that warp the packaging blank (10, 10v) when pressing the packaging blanks (10, 10v) onto the articles (12) and / or onto the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d).

5. Packaging machine (2) according to claim 3 or 4, comprising at least two multi-axis robots (58, 66) which can be used in coordinated motion control, wherein a first handling robot (58) is provided and equipped accordingly to remove the packaging blanks (10) from a magazine (56) and feed them to the stretch die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d), and wherein a second handling robot (66) is provided and equipped accordingly to pick up the pre-treated packaging blanks (10v) from the stretch die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) and apply them to the articles (12).

6. Packaging machine (2) according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which the stretching tools (24) of the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) are arranged within a curved plane.

7. Packaging machine (2) according to one of claims 1 to 6, which is equipped with a device (72) for optical monitoring of the finished containers (18), which is designed to subject the finished containers (18) to an optical condition check, wherein the device (72) for optical monitoring in particular comprises at least one camera (74) with downstream image evaluation.

8. Packaging machine (2) according to one of claims 1 to 7, in which one or the control device (68), which generates the control commands for controlling the at least one multi-axis robot (58, 66), accesses a central database, at least indirectly, for example via another computer, to adapt its control programs, which contains at least information on material and / or deformation data of the packaging blanks (10) used and / or other process-specific information.

9. Method for producing packages (18) each formed by at least two articles (12) grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank (10, 10v), wherein the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are provided with openings (14) for receiving at least one article (12), through which - 67 - through openings (14) an article (12) passes through each and is preferably fixed there, - wherein the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are pressed onto the articles (12) by means of a manipulator during their respective application to the articles (12) in a movement sequence that is at least sectionally and / or temporarily rolling and thereby warping the respective packaging blank (10, 10v).

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are weakened at their respective passage openings (14) for the purpose of their pretreatment and to reduce a joining force (36) when applying the packaging blanks (10, 10v) to the articles passing through the passage openings (14) using a stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d).

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are pressed onto the (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) expansion die during their pretreatment by means of the manipulator in a movement sequence that at least partially rolls and thereby warps the packaging blank (10, 10v).

12. Method according to one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the movement sequences for applying the packaging blanks (10, 10v) to the articles (12) and / or to the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) are carried out by means of at least one multi-axis robot (58, 66), wherein the manipulator is part of the multi-axis robot.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein the multi-axis robot receives its control commands for carrying out handling steps from a control device (68), which control device (68) has stored programs for several different movement paths for controlling the manipulator or a control head (62) of the multi-axis robot (58, 66) in a retrievable manner, and the movement paths specified by the control device (68) by means of the programs stored therein each comprise the rolling movements that warp the packaging blank (10, 10v) when pressing the packaging blanks (10, 10v) onto the articles (12) and / or onto the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d).

14. Method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the movement paths for the rolling application of the packaging blanks (10, 10v) are specified by a combined and / or superimposed control of at least two arm sections of the multi-axis robot (58, 66). - 68 - 15. Method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the deformation that warps the packaging blank (10, 10v) is predetermined by a corresponding control of a gripper arm (60) of the multi-axis robot (58, 66).

16. Method according to one of claims 12 to 15, wherein at least two multi-axis robots (58, 66) are used in coordinated motion control, wherein a first handling robot (58) removes the packaging blanks (10) from a magazine (56) and feeds them to the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) and wherein a second handling robot (66) picks up the pre-treated packaging blanks (10v) from the stretching die (22, 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) and applies them to the articles (12).

17. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, wherein the finished containers (18) are subjected to an optical condition check, in particular using at least one camera (74) with downstream image evaluation.

18. Method according to one of claims 9 to 17, wherein the control device (68), which generates the control commands for controlling the at least one multi-axis robot (58, 66), accesses a central database to adapt its control programs, which contains at least information on material and / or deformation data of the packaging blanks (10) used and / or other method-specific information.

19. Container (18) formed by at least two articles (12) grouped together by means of at least one packaging blank (10, 10v), wherein the packaging blank (10, 10v) is equipped with through-openings (14) for receiving at least one article (12), through which through-openings (14) each an article (12) passes and is fixed there, - wherein the container (18) was produced by a method according to any one of claims 9 to 18, and - wherein the articles (12) are each formed by containers with low intrinsic stability and / or by containers with a shape that yields under the influence of force.

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