Packaging machine

• US 4,642,967 A
• Filed: 06/27/1983
• Issued: 02/17/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meadwestvaco Packaging Systems, LLC (Meadwestvaco Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MEAD Corporation (Meadwestvaco Corporation)
• Inventors: Culpepper, Will L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sipos, John
• Application Number:
  US06/507,860
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 53/381 R, 53/491, 53/207, 53/209, 53/462, 53/534, 53/543, 53/580, 53/201, 53/398, 493/179, 493/182, 493/183, 493/438, 493/453, 493/455, 493/178, 198/425, 198/458, 198/473.1, 198/653
• US Class Current: 53/398
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 35/44 by endless belts or chains B65B35/405 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/026 for making trays

Abstract

Apparatus for loading articles into trays where the articles are first separated into rows with a divider assembly, then separated into groups with a grouper assembly and then pushed onto a dead plate to form a load. Different divider and grouper assemblies are provided to make different load configurations. A tray blank is moved under the dead plate and pushed out from under the dead plate synchronously with the movement of the article load over the dead plate so that the article load is deposited on the tray blank. Thereafter, the flaps on the tray blank are folded to erect the tray around the group of articles. Mechanical folding mechanisms are provided to fold certain of the flaps on the tray without folding the other flaps. The method of loading the articles in the tray and forming the tray around the articles is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method of loading articles in trays comprising the steps of:

supporting a stack of pre-cut try blanks in a feeder station where each of the tray blanks has fold lines defining a bottom panel, front and rear walls with flaps, and a pair of end walls;

pulling one of the tray blanks from the bottom of the stack;

folding the front wall of the tray blank toward an upright position;

pushing the tray blank onto a tray conveyor in a loading station and under a dead plate with a downstream edge while maintaining the front wall of the tray blank in the folded position as the tray blank is pushed onto the tray conveyor to maintain the bottom panel in a flat condition;

releasing the front wall of the tray blank as the tray blank is positioned under the dead plate;

pushing the tray blank out from under the downstream edge of the dead plate while the bottom panel is supported on the tray conveyor;

pushing a load of articles over the dead plate and off of the downstream edge thereof synchronously with the movement of the tray blank out from under the dead plate so that the load of articles are deposited onto the tray blank in registration with the bottom panel;

as the load of articles is pushed off of the dead plate onto the tray blank, passing the tray blank between front flap folding means and folding the front flaps to a square position with respect to the front wall;

releasing the load of articles deposited on the tray blank so that the load of articles is supported on and conveyed with the tray blank;

after the load of articles are released and supported on the tray blank, passing the tray blank and articles between rear flap folding means positioned downstream of the front flap folding means and folding the rear flaps to a square position with respect to the rear wall; and

while maintaining the front and rear flaps in the square position with respect to said front and rear walls respectively, transferring the loaded tray to erection means, and folding the front and rear walls to a square position with respect to the bottom panel and folding the end walls to a square position with respect to the bottom panel while adhesively bonding the end walls to the front and rear flaps to maintain the tray in an erected position.

2. A packaging machine for loading articles onto tray blanks with fold lines defining a bottom panel, front and rear walls with flaps, and a pair of end walls separated from the flaps by slots and coplanar with the flaps comprising:

a dead plate having a top surface and a downstream edge;

loading forming means for arranging a group of the articles to be loaded in the tray and for moving the group of articles in a prescribed horizontal direction across the top surface of said dead place and over the downstream edge thereon;

tray conveyor means extending under said dead plate for moving a flat tray blank along a prescribed horizontal path of movement out from under said dead plate and the downstream edge thereof in said prescribed direction and synchronously with the movement of the group of articles across said dead plate so that the group of articles is deposited on the tray blank in registration with the bottom panel;

front flap folding means for folding the flaps on the front wall of the tray blank to a square condition with respect to the front wall as the tray blank is moved thereby by said tray conveyor means;

rear flap folding means located downstream of said front flap folding means for folding the flaps on the rear wall to a square condition with respect to the rear wall as the tray blank is moved thereby by said tray conveyor means; and

a pair of spaced apart end guides having upstream ends located downstream of said dead plate and oriented parallel to the path of movement of the loaded tray to confine the load of articles therebetween, said front flap folding means located at the upstream ends of said end guides for folding the front wall flaps to the square condition so that said front wall flaps pass between said end guides, said rear flap folding means located downstream of said front flap folding means, and said end guides defining openings therethrough in registration with said rear flap folding means so that the rear flaps pass through said openings as said rear flaps are folded to the square condition to lie between said end guides

means for folding the front and rear walls against the articles downstream of said rear flap folding means.

3. The packaging machine of claim 2, further including feeder means for feeding the tray blanks one at a time onto said tray conveyor means and under said dead plate.

4. The packaging machine of claim 2 wherein said rear flap folding means includes a pair of flap folding devices mounted adjacent said end guides on opposite sides of said tray conveyor means, each of said flap folding devices including a flap folding member pivotally mounted adjacent said end guides about a horizontal pivot axis generally normal to the path along which the loaded tray blank is conveyed and above the plane of the end wall and the unfolded flap, said flap folding member including a curved finger portion extending upstream of said pivot axis and a camming portion extending downstream of said pivot axis, said camming portion defining a lower camming surface thereon and the center of mass of said flap folding member located so as to urge said flap folding member to pivot about said pivot axis to lower said camming surface on said camming portion below the plane of the end wall and the unfolded flap and to raise said finger portion above the plane of the end wall and the unfolded flap so that the leading end of the end wall passes under said finger portion of said flap folding member and engages said camming portion and pivots said flap folding member so as to lower said finger portion toward the end wall so that said finger portion passes through the slot and under the unfolded flap to fold said flap upwardly about a fold line parallel to said prescribed path while leaving said end wall unfolded.

5. The packaging machine of claim 4 wherein each of said flap folding devices further includes a deflector member located adjacent said finger portion of said flap folding member and extending through said opening in said end guide to engage the flap being folded by said flap folding member and deflect the flap through said opening in said end guide to a square condition with respect to the rear flap.

6. The packaging machine of claim 2 wherein said load forming means includes article conveyor means for conveying the articles thereon, lane divider means for dividing the conveyed articles into rows, and grouper means for dividing the rows of articles into subgroups.

7. The packaging machine of claim 6 wherein said lane divider means includes a plurality of lane divider assemblies removably and alternatively positionable adjacent said article conveyor means where different divider assemblies divide the articles into different numbers of rows of articles;

and wherein said grouper means includes a plurality of grouper conveyors removably and alternatively positionable adjacent said article conveyor means where one of said grouper conveyors is arranged to cooperate with one of the different lane divider assemblies to divide those rows of articles in said one lane divider assembly into subgroups so that articles can be arranged in different groupings by interchanging one of said divider assemblies along with the grouper conveyor corresponding thereto for another of said lane divider assemblies along with the grouper conveyor corresponding thereto.

8. A machine for arranging articles into groups for packaging comprising:

a support frame;

an infeed conveyor mounted on said support frame defining a smooth transport surface thereon for moving articles thereover in an unordered arrangement;

a plurality of lane conveyors for receiving articles from said infeed conveyor and transporting the articles thereon, said lane conveyors arranged parallel to each other defining spaces therebetween of prescribed widths;

upper divider mounting means including a plurality of upright members on said support frame extending above said infeed and lane conveyors;

a plurality of upper lane divider assemblies removably and alternatively mountable on said upper divider mounting means over said infeed conveyor and said lane conveyors to divide the articles moving along said infeed conveyor into rows aligned with said lane conveyors each of said upper lane divider assemblies including a plurality of upper support members adapted to extend transversally across said infeed and lane conveyors and fixedly yet removably mountable between said upright members, a pair of spaced apart side guide members secured to said upper support members and depending therebelow to extend along said infeed and lane conveyors parallel thereto when said upper support members are mounted in said upright members, and a plurality of spaced apart lane divider plate units secured to said upper support members between said side guide members and depending below said upper support members to extend along said infeed and lane conveyors parallel thereto when said upper support members are mounted in said upright members so that said upper support members, said side guide members and said lane dividers plate units are removable as a unit;

said plurality of upper lane divider assemblies including a first upper lane divider assembly including a first plurality of said line divider plate units for dividing the articles on said infeed conveyor into a first prescribed number of rows so that said rows of articles are supported on said lane conveyors without adjustment of the spacing between said lane conveyors, and a second upper lane divider assembly including a second plurality of said lane divider plate units for dividing the articles on said infeed conveyor into a second prescribed number of rows so that said rows of articles are supported on said lane conveyors without adjustment of the spacing between said lane conveyors so that said first and second lane divider assemblies can be interchangeably mounted on said upright members without adjustment of the spacing between said lane conveyors;

grouper conveyor sprocket means including a pair of spaced apart support shafts rotatably mounted on said support frame under said lane conveyors and a pair of spaced apart sprockets mounted on each of said support shafts; and

a plurality of grouper conveyors removably and alternatively mountable on said grouper conveyor sprocket means below said lane conveyors each of said grouper conveyors including a pair of spaced apart grouper chains removably mountable around said sprockets and extending between said support shafts, a plurality of grouper flight bars mounted between said grouper chains at spaced apart positions therealong oriented normal to the lane conveyors and passing immediately under said lane conveyors as said flight bars pass along the upper flight of said conveyor chains, and a plurality of holdback members mounted on each of said flight bars adapted to extend up through certain of said spaces between said lane conveyors to engage the articles in the rows carried on said lane conveyors without interference with said lane conveyors and without adjustment of the spacing between said lane conveyors, said plurality of grouper conveyors including a first grouper conveyor adapted to cooperate with said first lane divider assembly and having a first prescribed number of said holdback members on each of said flight bars with a first prescribed spacing therebetween so that said holdback members on said first grouper conveyor extend up through said spaces between said lane conveyors to engage those articles in each row of articles positioned by said first lane divider assembly and subdivide each row of articles into subgroups of articles with a first prescribed spacing therebetween, and a second grouper conveyor adapted to cooperate with said second lane divider assembly and having a second prescribed number of said holdback members on each of said flight bars with a second prescribed spacing therebetween so that said holdback members on said second grouper conveyor extend up through said spaces between said lane conveyors to engage those articles in each row of articles positioned by said second lane divider assembly and subdivide each row of articles into subgroups of articles with a second prescribed spacing therebetween so that said first and second grouper conveyors can be interchangeably mounted on said upright members without adjustment of the spacing between said lane conveyors.

9. The machine of claim 8 further including:

lower divider mounting means; and

a plurality of lower lane divider assemblies removably and alternatively mountable on said lower mounting means within said spaces between said lane conveyors where one of said lower lane divider assemblies cooperates with one of said upper lane divider assemblies to maintain the articles in the same rows as divided by said one upper lane divider assembly and each such row aligned with said one of said lane conveyors so that articles can be arranged in different groupings by interchanging one of said upper lane divider assemblies along with the grouper conveyor and lower lane divider assembly corresponding thereto for another of said upper lane divider assemblies along with the grouper conveyor and lower lane divider assembly corresponding thereto.

10. A flap folding device for folding a flap on a tray blank without folding the end wall on the tray blank coplanar with the flap and separated therefrom by a slot comprising:

conveyor means for moving the tray blank along a prescribed horizontal path with the end wall and unfolded flap coplanar with each other and with the unfolded flap trailing the end wall;

a flap folding member pivotally mounted adjacent said conveyor means about a horizontal pivot axis generally normal to said prescribed path and above the plane of the end wall and the unfolded flap, said flap folding member including a curved finger portion extending upstream of said pivot axis and a camming portion extending downstream of said pivot axis, said camming portion defining a lower camming surface thereon and the center of mass of said flap folding member located so as to urge said flap folding member to pivot about said pivot axis to lower said camming surface on said camming portion below the plane of the end wall and the unfolded flap and to raise said finger portion above the plane of the end wall and the unfolded flap so that the leading end of the end wall passes under said finger portion of said flap folding member and engages said camming surface on said camming portion and pivots said flap folding member so as to lower said finger portion against the end wall and resiliently urge said finger portion down against the end wall so that said finger portion is pressed through the slot and under the unfolded flap to fold said flap upwardly about a fold line parallel to said prescribed path.

11. The flap folding device of claim 10 further including a deflector member located against said finger portion of said flap folding member so that the end wall passes thereunder without engaging same while said finger portion folds the flap up into engagement with said deflector member and said deflector member continues to fold the flap into a position perpendicular to the end wall.