CONTAINER SET-UP APPARATUS

• US 3,564,980 A
• Filed: 11/21/1968
• Issued: 02/23/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Winters John Donald
• Original Assignee: Winters John Donald
• Inventors: WINTERS JOHN DONALD
• Application Number:
  US04/777,625
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• US Class Current: 493/317
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2100/00 Rigid or semi-rigid containers made by folding single-piece sheets, blanks or webs
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2120/30 collapsible; temporarily collapsed during manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/00 Making rigid or semi-rigid containers, e.g. boxes or cartons
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/80 Pneumatically
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/804 using two or more suction devices on a rotating element

Abstract

A suction head sets up knockeddown flat folded cartons to an erected rectangular outline, the head including a pair of suction grippers carried on fixedly spaced, parallel, rotary axes. The grippers, upon taking suction engagement with opposed walls of a collapsed carton, are rotated unidirectionally about these axes to open the carton, the carton side walls or panels moving away from one another without the grippers being moved away from each other in the opening of the carton.

Claims

1. In mechanism for erecting flat tubular cartons, or like objects having successive flexibly articulated panels, to an outline of polygonal cross section, a pair of grippers mounted to rotate in the same rotative direction about fixedly spaced, parallel axes in an erecting phase of operation, said grippers being grippingly engageable with different panels of the carton in said phase, and means to rotate said engaged grippers individually about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.

2. In mechanism for erecting flat tubular cartons having successive flexibly articulated panels to an outline of polygonal cross section, a pair of suction grippers mounted to rotate on fixedly spaced, parallel axes in an erecting phase of operation, said grippers being grippingly engageable with oppositely facing and nonsuccessive panels of the carton and means to rotate said engaged grippers simultaneously, individually and unidirectionally about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.

3. The mechanism of claim 2, in which said rotating means comprises a parallel arm-type linkage operatively connected to said grippers to so rotate the same about said axes.

4. The mechanism of claim 2, in which said rotating means comprises a linkage operatively connected to said grippers to so rotate the same about said axes, and further comprising means operable in another phase of operation to rotate at least one of said grippers about an axis paralleling the first-named gripper axes.

5. Apparatus for erecting flat tubular cartons having successive flexibly articulated panels to an outline of polygonal cross section, comprising a plurality of gripper heads each having a pair of grippers mounted to rotate in the same rotative direction about fixedly spaced, parallel axes in an erecting phase of operation, a supply magazine to contain the flat cartons, means to transport said heads in succession past said magazine, with one gripper of each thereof in a position in which it may grippingly engage an endmost carton in the magazine in the removal of that carton from the magazine, the other gripper being in a position, in passing the magazine, to physically clear the latter, and means acting with the grippers in engagement with opposite sides of the carton to rotate said engaged grippers about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, in which, prior to said rotation of the grippers about said axes, the gripped flat carton is moved to lie in a plane at 90* to the plane occupied by it in the magazine.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, in which said rotating means comprises a parallel-arm-type linkage operatively connected to said grippers to so rotate the same about said axes.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, in which said rotating means comprises a parallel-arm-type linkage operatively connected to said grippers to so rotate the same about said axes.

9. A method of erecting to a polygonal outline a flat tubular carton having flexibly articulated panels, comprising gripping a pair of oppositely facing panels of the flat carton, and rotating the gripped panels in the same rotative direction about parallel axes fixedly spaced from one to another to erect the carton to said outline.

10. A method of successively erecting to a polygonal outline a series of flat tubular cartons having flexibly articulated panels, comprising successively gripping one panel only of each flat carton in removing it from a stacked supply of such cartons, transporting the thus gripped cartons in a predetermined path, successively gripping an oppositely facing panel of each carton while in transport, and rotating the gripped panels of each carton during transport in the same rotative direction and radii of rotation about fixedly spaced, parallel axes to erect the cartons to said outline.

11. The method of claim 10, in which the gripped flat carton is shifted, during transport and prior to said rotation of said panels about said axes, to lie in a plane at 90* to the plane occupied by it in said stacked carton supply.

12. The method of claim 11, in which said shifting of the flat carton is a purely rotative one about an axis paralleling said fixedly spaced axes.

13. The method of claim 11, in which the carton, as thus shifted, is gripped by only one of said grippers.

14. The method of claim 12, in which the carton, as thus shifted, is gripped by only one of said grippers.

15. Apparatus for erecting flat tubular cartons having successive flexibly articulated panels to an outline of polygonal cross section, comprising a plurality of gripper heads, said gripper heads each having a pair of grippers, said grippers mounted to rotate on fixedly spaced, parallel axes in an erecting phase of operation, a supply magazine to contain the flat cartons, means to transport said heads in succession past one end of said magazine, means to move an endmost carton from said magazine, means to urge said carton toward and into engagement with one of said grippers, the other gripper being in a position, in passing the magazine, to physically clear the latter, and means acting with the grippers in engagement with opposite sides of the carton to rotate said engaged grippers about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to said polygonal outline.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said magazine comprises walls to confine said cartons and the means to move an endmost carton from said magazine comprises an end portion extension on one of said walls, said extension being positioned at an angle to said one wall to direct the movement of said carton away from said magazine and toward said one said gripper.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means to move said endmost carton from said magazine comprises an arm supporting one said gripper with a rod extending from said arm support, said rod having a downwardly extending finger for engagement with a carton in said magazine when said one said gripper is moved across one end of said supply magazine.

18. A method of successively erecting to a polygonal outline a series of flat tubular cartons having flexibly articulated panels, comprising successively moving each carton from a stacked supply of such cartons toward and into suction engagemeNt with a suction gripper, said gripper gripping one panel of said carton, transporting the thus gripped cartons in a predetermined path, successively gripping an oppositely facing panel of each carton while in transport, and rotating the gripped panels of each carton during transport in the same rotative direction and substantially the same radii of rotation about fixedly spaced, parallel axes to erect the cartons to said outline.

19. In mechanism for erecting flat tubular cartons, or like objects having successive flexibly articulated panels, to an outline of polygonal cross section, a pair of grippers mounted to rotate on fixedly spaced, parallel axes and in rotative paths of equal radii and the same rotative direction in an erecting phase of operation, said grippers being grippingly engageable with different panels of the carton in said phase, and means to rotate said engaged grippers individually about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.

20. In mechanism for erecting flat tubular cartons having successive flexibly articulated panels to an outline of polygonal cross section, a pair of suction grippers mounted to rotate on fixedly spaced, parallel axes and in rotative paths of equal radii and the same rotative direction in an erecting phase of operation, said grippers being grippingly engageable with oppositely facing and nonsuccessive panels of the carton and means to rotate said engaged grippers simultaneously, individually and unidirectionally about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.

21. Apparatus for erecting tubular cartons having successive flexibly articulated panels to an outline of polygonal cross section, comprising a plurality of gripper heads each having a pair of grippers mounted to rotate on fixedly spaced, parallel axes and in rotative paths of equal radii and the same rotative direction in an erecting phase of operation, a supply magazine to contain the flat cartons, means to transport said heads in succession past said magazine, with one gripper of each thereof in a position in which it may grippingly engage an endmost carton in the magazine in the removal of that carton from the magazine, the other gripper being in a position, in passing the magazine, to physically clear the latter, and means acting with the grippers in engagement with opposite sides of the carton to rotate said engaged grippers about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.

22. The mechanism of claim 1, in which said grippers simultaneously and continuously maintain contact with said engaged panels of the carton of the latter from flat condition to a desired and completed polygonal outline.

23. The mechanism of claim 2, in which said grippers simultaneously and continuously maintain contact with said engaged panels of the carton of the latter from flat condition to a desired and completed polygonal outline.

24. The mechanism of claim 19, in which said grippers simultaneously and continuously maintain contact with said engaged panels of the carton of the latter from flat condition to a desired and completed polygonal outline.

25. The mechanism of claim 20, in which said grippers simultaneously and continuously maintain contact with said engaged panels of the carton of the latter from flat condition to a desired and completed polygonal outline.

26. A method of erecting to a polygonal outline a flat tubular carton having flexibly articulated panels, comprising gripping a pair of different panels of the flat carton, and rotating the gripped panels in the same rotative direction and radii of rotation about parallel axes fixedly spaced from one to another to erect the carton to said outline.

27. In mechanism for erecting flat tubular cartons, or like objects having successive flexibly articulated panels, to an outline of polygonal cross section, a pair of grippers mounted to rotate in the same rotative direction on substantially equal radii about fixedly spaced, parallel axes in an erecting phase of operation, said grippers being grippingly engageable with different panels of the cartons in said phase, and means to rotate said engaged grippers individually about the respective axes thereof to move the panels of the carton to form said polygonal outline.