Hinged Arm Pick-Up Unit for Compact Tubular Blank Boxing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional boxing machines require significant horizontal space due to the need for extensive chain development to open, fill, and seal tubular cardboard boxes, limiting their compactness without compromising productivity.
Innovation Solution
A compact boxing machine unit that picks up and opens tubular blanks using a hinged arm mechanism, allowing the blank to be opened and filled on a rest plane, enabling independent filling and reducing machine dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional chain conveyors are used to open and fill tubular blanks, then the blanks can be processed through opening, filling, and sealing operations, but the machine requires considerable horizontal development
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a horizontal process layout to a vertical arrangement by positioning the pick-up member above the rest plane. The pick-up member moves vertically to pick up blanks from the store, open them on the rest plane, and return above the opened blanks, thereby reducing the horizontal footprint while maintaining all necessary processing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple operations (picking up, opening, and filling) into a single integrated zone. The pick-up member performs picking and opening operations in the same vertical space above the rest plane, and the filling operation occurs in the same zone, eliminating the need for separate horizontal sections for each operation.
2Reliability
If the chains are synchronised with rods to abut and open the blanks, then the blanks can be stabilised during filling, but the machine structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the opening function from the conveyor system and assigns it to the pick-up member. Instead of using synchronized rods on chains to open the blanks, the pick-up member alone performs the opening action by resting the blank on the rest plane, simplifying the overall machine structure while maintaining reliability.
3Area of stationary object
If the pick-up member rests the blank on a rest plane to open it, then the opening and filling can occur in the same zone, but the pick-up mechanism requires multiple hinged arms
Solution Approach 1:
The pick-up mechanism is segmented into multiple functional arms (first arm, second arm, third arm) hinged at different axes. Each arm performs a specific function: the first arm picks up the blank, the second arm positions it, and the third arm assists in the opening motion. This segmentation allows the complex motion to be achieved through coordinated simple hinge movements, making the mechanism manageable despite its complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A
AI summary
A unit for picking-up a tubular blank in a flattened configuration and for opening out the tubular blank, comprising: gripping means; a pick-up member (8) which bears the gripping means (7); a frame (9); a first arm (11) which is hinged to the frame (9) at a first hinge axis (12) which is hinged to the pick-up member (8) at a second hinge axis (13); a second arm (14) which is hinged to the frame (9) at a third hinge axis (15), the third hinge axis (15) being arranged at a lower height than the first hinge axis (12); a third arm (16) which is hinged to the second arm (14) at a fourth hinge axis (17) and which is hinged to the pick-up member (8) at a fifth hinge axis (18); the first arm (11) and the second arm (14) being activatable in phase relation with one another; the unit (1) being configured such that the pick-up member (8): picks up the tubular blank (2) in a flattened configuration from the pick-up position (P); rests the tubular blank (2) on a rest plane (19), realising, in cooperation therewith, the opening-out of the tubular blank (2); and returns the pick-up member (8) towards the pick-up position (P), passing over the opened-out tubular blank (2).