CORRUGATED SHEET PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20180345619A1
• Filed: 07/27/2016
• Published: 12/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH (Bwv-Wellpappenmaschinen Vertriebs-GmbH)
• Original Assignee: DS Smith Packaging Limited (DS Smith PLC)
• Inventors: Lang, Tony, Williamson, Stephen, Tomlinson, Glyn
• Granted Patent: US 10,882,271 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2120/10 provided with covers, e.g. lids
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2120/70 having corrugated or pleated walls
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/006 Controlling; Regulating; Measuring; Improving safety
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/14 Cutting, e.g. perforating, punching, slitting or trimming cutting window openings B31B50/83
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/16 Cutting webs
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/20 Cutting sheets or blanks
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/88 Printing; Embossing
• CPC Class Codes: B31F 1/2813 Making corrugated cardboard of composite structure, e.g. comprising two or more corrugated layers
• CPC Class Codes: B31F 1/2818 Glue application specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B31F 1/2822 involving additional operations
• CPC Class Codes: B31F 1/2831 Control
• CPC Class Codes: B31F 1/289 from discrete sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 21/00 Apparatus for splicing webs during web-roll changing B65H19/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 23/18 by controlling or regulating the web-advancing mechanism, e.g. mechanism acting on the running web
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4148 slitting
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/51512 using a cutting member moving linearly in a plane parallel to the surface of the web and along a direction crossing the handled material
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/515323 rotary
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2553/42 Cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1762 Corrugated
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 35/02 from or with longitudinal slitters or perforators
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 35/08 : from or with revolving, e.g. cylinder, cutters or perforators

Abstract

There is provided a corrugated sheet processing apparatus (120) comprising: sheet processing equipment comprising at least feed and guide rollers for selecting, moving and supporting sheets or webs to a corrugator (136) for forming a corrugated sheet from which corrugated products (146) can be cut, at least one layer of the corrugated sheet, and thus products, being formed from a printed sheet or web; and a control system for controlling the sheet processing equipment (136) or a cutter (148); the sheet processing apparatus (136) further comprising a visual inspection unit (162) arranged for reading printed information markers provided on at least one printed sheet or web as the printed sheet or web, and thus the printed information markers to be read, pass through the corrugated sheet processing apparatus (136), or corrugator, past the visual inspection unit (162); and wherein the control system further has a data look-up table comprising either a) for the products, at least information associated with the form or type of at least one of the sheets or webs to be used in the corrugated sheet for those products (146), and associated with that information specific identifier information readable from the printed information markers by the visual inspection unit (162), whereby the apparatus (120) can identify what products will be produced downstream of the visual inspection unit, and the required settings for the sheet processing equipment or corrugator for those products, from a read printed information marker so that the sheet processing equipment or corrugator can be appropriately controlled by the control system in response to the read printed information marker, or b) at least information associated with the products (146) to be cut from the corrugated sheet, including cutter settings for the at least one cutting apparatus for those products, and associated with those settings specific identifier information readable from the printed information markers by the visual inspection unit, whereby the apparatus (120) can identify required cutter settings for the cutting apparatus (148) for the read printed information markers so that the cutting apparatus can be appropriately controlled by the control system in response to a read printed information marker to provide a change in the cutter requirements.

Claims

1-65. -65. (canceled)

66. A corrugated sheet processing apparatus comprising:

sheet processing equipment comprising a corrugator and at least feed and guide rollers for selecting, moving and supporting sheets or webs to the corrugator for forming a corrugated sheet from which corrugated products can be cut, at least one layer of the corrugated sheet, and thus of the products, being formed from a printed sheet or web; and

a control system for controlling the sheet processing equipment;

the corrugated sheet processing apparatus further comprising a visual inspection unit arranged for reading printed markers provided on at least one printed sheet or web as the printed sheet or web, and thus the printed markers to be read, pass through the corrugated sheet processing apparatus, or the corrugator thereof;

wherein;

the printed markers are printed information markers having information thereon;

the corrugated sheet is for more than one product order, the products of one order compared to a previous order having differing details, comprising any one or more of a) differing shapes, b) differing forms or types for at least one of the sheets or webs, c) differing numbers of webs, and d) differing glue types, glue temperatures, glue thickness or glue locations; and

the control system further has a data look-up table comprising for the products to be cut from the corrugated sheet at least information associated with the said differing details, and associated with that information identifier information readable from the printed information markers by the visual inspection unit, whereby the apparatus can identify what products will need to be produced downstream of the visual inspection unit, and identify in advance the required settings for the sheet processing equipment or corrugator for those products, in response to a read printed information marker so that the sheet processing equipment or corrugator can be appropriately controlled by the control system to meet the said required details of the identified product.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein each printed information marker is a QR code or bar code and the visual inspection unit includes an appropriate reader therefor.

68. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the look up table is a reel map.

69. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein each marker is uniquely identified by its printed information whereby its position within a particular order can be ascertained.

70. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein two different product orders are sequentially positioned longitudinally along the length of the corrugated sheet.

71. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein only some of the printed images have an associated unique printed information marker.

72. A method of using the apparatus of claim 66, wherein the sheet or web with the information marker printed thereon is fed past the visual inspection unit, the information on the information marker is read and the information thereon is used by the control system to prepare the apparatus for any required changes to meet the required details of the identified product.

73. A method of using the apparatus of claim 66, wherein the control system can automate a timing of a change to allow the corrugated sheet formed in the corrugator to change within the material stream so as to alter from one form to another that matches a requirement set out in data look-up table for the product to be cut therefrom.

74. A method of using the apparatus of claim 66, wherein, upon noting a forthcoming requirement change by reference to the look-up table, and when an appropriate different source roll is already loaded into a splicing unit of the sheet processing equipment, the control system and the sheet processing equipment operate to switch out a first source roll and splice in the different source roll, so as to achieve a change in the material input for the corrugator.

75. The method of claim 74, wherein the switch may be triggered within a linear distance of travel of the sheet materials of 10 m, such that the switch is done by the time that the read information marker that noted the requirement change has moved further through the apparatus by no more than 10 m.

76. A method of using the apparatus of claim 66, wherein when a requirement change is noted, the sheet processing apparatus, and the corrugator, slow down.

77. A method of using the apparatus of claim 66, wherein the sheet processing equipment can affect a reduction or increase in the number of layers within the corrugate.

78. A corrugated sheet processing apparatus comprising:

a control system; and

downstream processing equipment, the downstream processing equipment comprising at least feed and guide rollers for moving or supporting a corrugated sheet and at least one cutting apparatus for cutting products from the corrugated sheet;

wherein;

the control system is for controlling at least the cutting apparatus;

the corrugated sheet processing apparatus further comprises a visual inspection unit arranged for reading printed markers provided on the corrugated sheet as the corrugated sheet, and thus the printed markers to be read, pass through the corrugated sheet processing apparatus past the visual inspection unit;

the printed markers are printed information markers having information thereon;

the corrugated sheet is for more than one product order, the products of one order compared to a previous order having differing details, comprising any one or more of a) differing shapes, and b) differing forms or types for cutter settings for the at least one cutting apparatus to be used for the products of that order; and

the control system further has a data look-up table comprising for the products to be cut from the corrugated sheet at least information associated with the said differing details, and associated with that information identifier information readable from the printed information markers by the visual inspection unit, whereby the apparatus can identify what product will need to be produced downstream of the visual inspection unit, and identify in advance the required cutter settings for the at least one cutting apparatus, in response to a read printed information marker so that the at least one cutting apparatus can be appropriately controlled by the control system to meet the required cutter requirements for the identified product.

79. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein each printed information marker is a QR code or bar code and the visual inspection unit includes an appropriate reader therefor.

80. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein the look up table is a reel map.

81. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein each marker is uniquely identified by its printed information whereby its position within a particular order can be ascertained.

82. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein two different product orders are sequentially positioned longitudinally along the length of the corrugated sheet.

83. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein only some of the printed images have an associated unique printed information marker.

84. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein the cutting apparatus includes one or more longitudinal cutting unit or blade for cutting the corrugated sheet lengthways to define a predetermined width for a part thereof and the predetermined width is part of the information retained in the look-up table.

85. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein the apparatus comprises one or more cross-cut apparatus adapted to cut the corrugated sheet into a predetermined length to form lengths for stacking and the predetermined length is part of the information retained in the look-up table.