Machine for spreading out cardboard boxes automatically

• US 6,929,593 B1
• Filed: 02/04/2004
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tien Heng Machinery Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tien Heng Machinery Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Chen, Tuan-Mei Chiu
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Eugene
• Application Number:
  US10/770,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20050170941A1
• Time in Patent Office: 559 Days
• Field of Search: 493/55, 493/123, 493/128, 531/364, 533/821
• US Class Current: 493/55
• 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 50/0044 the boxes having their opening facing upwardly
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/78 Mechanically
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/80 Pneumatically
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/802 for setting-up boxes having their opening facing upwardly

Abstract

A machine is provided for spreading out cardboard boxes automatically, which is structured such that cardboards can be held in a holding mechanism upright and closely side by side, and fed to a main body one after another, and which have sucking disks for drawing the cardboards to spread out the same; the sucking disks can be adjusted in position as well as length of space between them; the machine further has a bending mechanism for bending bottom shutter portions of the cardboard boxes after the cardboard boxes are spread out; adhesive tapes are automatically applied onto the bottom of the boxes to seal the boxes after the bottom shutter portions of the boxes are bent.

Claims

1. A machine for spreading out cardboard boxes, comprising

a material holding mechanism for holding cardboards thereon;

a machine main body next to the material holding mechanism;

the cardboards being conveyed into the machine main body from the material holding mechanism, and being spread out and folded at bottom shutter portions thereof in the machine main body;

the cardboards being sealed at the bottom shutter portions with a adhesive tape applying member, and conveyed outside the machine main body after being sealed at the bottom;

a sucking disk set arranged in the machine main body;

the sucking disk set having a plurality of sucking disks for drawing one of four lateral portions of a cardboard thereto and moving the lateral portion so as to making the lateral portions form four substantially straight angles between them;

the sucking disks being displaced with horizontally positioned cylinders to move the cardboard;

a bending mechanism for bending bottom shutter portions of the cardboards with;

the bending mechanism having front and rear tapping boards, and two lateral tapping rods for respectively bending front, rear and lateral shutter portions of bottoms of the cardboards with;

the bending mechanism having an auxiliary support board connected with the front tapping board for pushing a front one of the lateral portions of the cardboards to make the lateral portions form four exactly straight angles between them before the tapping boards and tapping rods begin functioning; and

a pushing mechanism arranged in the machine main body for pushing spread out cardboard boxes to conveying belts after the shutter portions of bottoms of the cardboards are bent and after the boxes are released from the sucking disks;

the boxes being sealed at bottoms with the adhesive tape applying member after being pushed to the conveying belts;

the pushing mechanism having a pushing board for touching the cardboards;

the pushing mechanism having a pushing cylinder for moving the pushing board with.

2. The machine for spreading out cardboard boxes as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sucking disks are to draw the cardboards one after another, and the sucking disk set further has:

a support board;

the sucking disks being fitted to the support board by means of adjustment screw bolts;

the support board being pivoted to an upright rod;

a slide block, the support board being joined to a slide block at a lower end;

the slide block being fitted on slide rails, and being securely joined to an output rod of a horizontal cylinder such that the sucking disks can be horizontally displaced;

the support board and the upright rod having projecting ears on outward sides;

a sloping cylinder pivoted to the projecting ears of the support board and the upright rod such that the support board and the sucking disks on the board can be angularly displaced;

the support board having an adjustable touching rod for coming into contact with cardboards drawn to the sucking disks;

a horizontally positioned screw bolt disposed to face outward side of the slide rails;

a locating base screwed onto the horizontally positioned screw bolt;

the horizontally positioned screw bolt having a chain wheel fixed to one end thereof; and

a chain connected to the chain wheel and a second chain wheel, which is connected to an inward end of an adjustment rod, such that the locating base can be adjusted;

the locating base having a touching rod fitted thereto for coming into contact with the upright rod on the slide block so as to limit the rightward movement of the whole sucking disk set.

3. The machine for spreading out cardboard boxes as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pushing mechanism includes:

a base and a pushing board; and

a pushing cylinder fitted on the base;

an output rod of the cylinder being securely joined to the pushing board at outer end;

the pushing board having a guiding curved portion such that when cardboards are being spread out, the cardboards can become lozenge, and then become rectangular gradually with help of the guiding curved portion.

4. The machine for spreading out cardboard boxes as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bending mechanism includes front and rear tapping boards, and a lateral tapping rod set;

the front tapping board being fitted to an auxiliary support board, and actuated by means of a first cylinder;

the auxiliary support board having a down extending support portion;

the first cylinder being pivoted to a lower end of the down extending support portion at a lower end, and actuated with a second cylinder;

the second cylinder being pivoted to an extending portion of a base of the pushing mechanism;

an output rod of the second cylinder being pivoted to the auxiliary support board;

a support rod being fitted on a left side of the auxiliary support board, and pivoted to a projecting ear formed on top of an upright support.

5. The machine for spreading out cardboard boxes as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pressing mechanism is arranged on two sides of the machine main body;

the pressing mechanism including lateral supports, and a movable support fitted to the lateral supports;

the pressing mechanism having a pressing board joined to the movable support so as to be capable of being pressed against top of a cardboard while the bending mechanism is functioning to bend bottom shutter portions of the cardboard, thus preventing the cardboard from moving upwards.

6. The machine for spreading out cardboard boxes as claimed in claim 5, wherein the movable support of the pressing mechanism has an inverted U-shape, and is passed through the lateral supports 52;

the movable support having screw rods in two lateral portions thereof;

a chain being passed over the screw rods;

a first one of the screw rods projecting upwards from top of the movable support;

a handle being fitted to the upper end of the first screw rod such that both the screw rods can be turned by means of operating the handle;

the lateral supports 52 having screw tubes therein;

both the screw rods being respectively screwed into the screw tubes such that the inverted U-shaped movable support can be moved up and down, and such that a pressing board, which is joined to the inverted U-shaped movable support, can be pressed against top of a cardboard while the bending mechanism is functioning to bend bottom shutter portions of the cardboard.

7. The machine for spreading out cardboard boxes as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein a transverse support body is joined to lower end portions of both the base of the pushing mechanism and the upright support of the auxiliary support board, to which the front tapping board is joined while there are slide bases fitted under the transverse support body as well as left and right slide rails fitted to the slide bases such that the slide bases can be moved forwards and backwards;

a first screw tube being disposed between the slide bases under the transverse support body;

a guide screw rod being screwed into the first screw tube;

a first bevel gear being securely joined to the guide screw rod, and engaging a second bevel gear, which is securely joined to an adjustment rod;

a handle being securely joined to the adjustment rod such that the pushing mechanism, the front tapping board, and the auxiliary support board together can be forwards and rearwards adjusted by means of turning the handle.

8. A machine for spreading out cardboard boxes, comprising a sucking disk set, which have a plurality of sucking disks, and two support boards;

the support boards respectively having first adjustment rods, and second adjustment rods thereon;

the second adjustment rods being each between every adjacent two of the first adjustment rods;

each of the first and the second adjustment rods having a holding rod, and an insertion rod inserted in and displaceable relative to the holding rod;

the insertion rods having locating elongated trenches thereon;

adjustment screw bolts being connected to the holding rods, and screwed into the locating elongated trenches;

the sucking disks being fitted on the holding rods and the insertion rods of the first adjustment rods such that the sucking disks can be adjusted in position as well as length of space between them.