APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING PACKING BOXES

• US 20080110570A1
• Filed: 11/09/2007
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emmeci S.p.A. (Is Company SRL)
• Original Assignee: Emmeci S.R.L.
• Inventors: Bassi, Gino
• Granted Patent: US 7,810,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 156/378
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 35/56 Orientating, i.e. changing the attitude of, articles, e.g. of non-uniform cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 15/30 Belts or like endless load-carriers co-operating with rails or the like B65G21/22; co-operating with rollers B65G39/20
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2201/022 Flat
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/0233 Position of the article
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/044 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/08 Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42

Abstract

An apparatus for positioning packing boxes relative to a covering sheet comprises a belt for conveying the sheet from a gluing unit to a device for centering the box on the pre-glued sheet and optical sensors for identifying the position of the sheet on a belt conveyor surface, the belt being made with at least two regions of the conveyor surface having contrasting colors.

Claims

1. An apparatus for positioning packing boxes (S) relative to a covering sheet (F), comprising:

a belt (N) for conveying the sheet (F) from a gluing unit (I) to a station (P) for centering the box (S) on the pre-glued sheet (F),

optical sensors for identifying the position of the sheet (F) on a belt (N) conveyor surface, wherein the belt is made with at least two regions of the conveyor surface having contrasting colors.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt is a continuous conveyor belt and the regions are two longitudinal regions of the belt (N) which are parallel with the belt direction of feed.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the regions are the two longitudinal halves (N1, N2) of the belt (N).

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it has several groups of sensors (4) positioned to read the position of the sheet on each of the regions having a contrasting color.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the regions are colored black and white.

6. An apparatus for conveying objects (F), comprising a conveyor belt (N) and at least one optical sensor (4) for detecting the position of the objects on the belt (N) conveyor surface, wherein the belt is made with at least two regions of the conveyor surface having contrasting colors.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the belt is a continuous conveyor belt and the regions are two longitudinal regions of the belt (N) which are parallel with the belt direction of feed.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein it has several groups of sensors (4) positioned to read the position of the object on each of the regions having a contrasting color.

9. A method for optically detecting the position of objects (F) on a conveyor belt (N), wherein the belt is made with at least two regions (N1, N2) having different colors and each contrasting with the color of the object to be detected.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the belt is a continuous conveyor belt and the regions are two longitudinal regions of the belt (N) which are parallel with the belt direction of feed.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the sheets is positioned along the longitudinal center line of the belt.

12. A continuous conveyor belt, wherein it has a conveyor surface with two longitudinal regions having contrasting colors.

13. The conveyor belt according to claim 12, wherein the regions are the longitudinal halves of the conveyor belt.

14. The conveyor belt according to claim 12, wherein said colors are black and white.

15. The conveyor belt according to claim 12, wherein the conveyor belt consists of two or more belts without longitudinal joins.

16. The conveyor belt according to claim 15, wherein the belt is made of woven fabric.

17. The conveyor belt according to claim 13, wherein said colors are black and white.