Patent Application
20080098699
This invention relates generally to a dunnage dispensing system for supplying dunnage to a container, and more particularly to an automated system for dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container.
In the process of shipping one or more articles in a container, a packer typically places some type of dunnage material in the shipping container along with the articles. The dunnage material partially or completely fills the empty space the void volumes around the articles in the container. The dunnage material prevents or minimizes any shifting of the articles in the container and/or cushions the articles in the container during the shipping process. Some commonly used dunnage materials are plastic foam peanuts, plastic bubble pack, air bags and converted paper dunnage.
An exemplary dunnage conversion machine that converts a continuous sheet of paper into a crumpled strip of dunnage is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,589. Typically, as the crumpled strip is being discharged from the conversion machine a person, commonly referred to as a packer, guides, pushes and/or folds the crumpled strip into the container. The rapid speed at which the conversion machine can produce dunnage can make the packer's task difficult as well as tedious. Nevertheless, a packer heretofore generally has been needed to ensure that the dunnage properly fills the void around the articles in the container, and further to close and seal the container or at least initiate closure of the container prior to being passed to a case sealer.
The present invention provides an automatic system and method for inserting dunnage, particularly a continuous strip of dunnage, into a container, thereby avoiding or minimizing the need for a packer, and freeing the packer for other tasks.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method of automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container comprises the steps of using a dispenser to feed a length of a strip of dunnage lengthwise from an outlet of the dispenser, positioning the outlet relative to a container such that the strip will curl or fold back and forth upon itself within the confines of the container as it is being fed from the outlet of the dispenser, and using a container closer to move a cover or flaps of the container to a position that closes the container.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system for automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container comprises a dispenser having an outlet from which the dispenser can feed a length of a strip of dunnage lengthwise, a container support for supporting a container thereon, the outlet being aligned with the container support, and a pusher device at the outlet for pushing, more particularly propelling, a trailing end of the strip of dunnage from the outlet toward the container support.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a system for automatically dispensing dunnage into a container comprises a chamber having an outlet opening at one end thereof, a dispenser for feeding dunnage into the chamber to form an accumulated quantity of dunnage, and a plunger for pushing the accumulated quantity of dunnage through the outlet of the chamber, whereby the dunnage can be dispensed into a container supported at the outlet of the chamber.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a system for automatically dispensing dunnage into a container comprises a dispenser having an outlet from which dunnage can be supplied and a container closer adjacent the outlet, the container closer having a movable member for effecting at least partial enclosure of an open side of a container.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of automatically dispensing dunnage into a container comprises the steps of moving one or more flaps of a container inwardly relative to an open side of the container to partially close the open side of the container, and using a dispenser to feed dunnage into the partially closed container from an outlet of the dispenser that is aligned with the open side of the container.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system for automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container comprises a container support for supporting a container at a dunnage filling station, a dispenser having an outlet from which the dispenser can feed a strip of dunnage into a container supported on the container support, and a container closer at the dunnage filling station having one or more movable members for pushing at least one flap of a container from an upright orientation toward a substantially horizontal orientation to at least partially close the container.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a system for automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container comprises a container support for supporting a container and a dunnage dispenser having an outlet aligned with the support and from which the dispenser can dispense a strip of dunnage toward the support, wherein the container support and the outlet are movable relative to one another in at least a vertical direction and at least one of two orthogonal directions transverse the vertical direction to dispense dunnage into desired portions of the container.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container, comprising the steps of using a dispenser to feed a strip of dunnage from an outlet of the dispenser, and using at least one positioning device to move one or more of the outlet and a container relative to the other of the outlet and the container while feeding a strip of dunnage from the outlet into the container.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system for automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container comprises a dispenser having an outlet from which the dispenser can feed a strip of dunnage, a container support for supporting a container at a dunnage filling station adjacent the outlet with an open side of the container aligned with the outlet, a container closer at the dispensing station for at least partially closing the container, and a container closing station at a location removed from the dunnage filling station for closing and securing the container in a closed condition, and a controller for instructing the dispenser to dispense a strip of dunnage through the outlet and then instructing the container support to transport the container from the dunnage filling station to the container closing station.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of automatically dispensing a strip of dunnage into a container, comprising the steps of using a dispenser to feed a predetermined length of a strip of dunnage through an outlet of the dispenser into a container at a dunnage filling station; using a container support to support a container at the dunnage filling station with an open side of the container aligned with the outlet of the dispenser; and using a container closer to move a cover or flaps of the container to a position that closes the container.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a packing system for supplying dunnage to a container comprises a source of dunnage and a dispensing assembly downstream of the source of dunnage that includes an elongated accumulating chamber and an outlet feed device at a downstream end of the elongated accumulating chamber that inhibits yet allows passage of the dunnage therethrough so that the dunnage can enter the chamber at an upstream end at a first rate and exit the chamber at a downstream end at a second rate that is less than the first rate.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method for supplying dunnage to a container to fill a void in the container around at least one article being packed comprises the following steps: supplying a length of dunnage; causing the dunnage to undulate transverse to its length within an accumulating chamber; and actuating a pusher to push the dunnage into a container.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a packing system for supplying dunnage to a container comprises a source of dunnage, and a dispensing assembly downstream of the source of dunnage that includes an elongated accumulating chamber and a rotating member at a downstream end of the chamber that feeds dunnage out of the chamber.
The foregoing and other features of the invention are hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail several illustrative embodiments of the invention, such being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.
Referring now to the drawings in detail, and initially to
As will be appreciated, the packing system and components thereof may be used to pack many different types of containers, although in most instances the container will be a box, also referred to as a carton. Consequently, the terms box, container and carton are for the most part herein used interchangeably. However, adaptations may need to be made for different types of containers. For example, some containers may be provided pre-erected or do not require erection, thereby negating the need for the hereinafter described box erector. These adaptations and other modifications needed to accommodate containers of various types will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Moving from left to right in
The packing system 10 also includes a controller 30 for controlling the packing system 10. The controller 30 can be composed of one or more processors and associated peripheral devices for controlling the various components of the system and the transport of the container through the system. Individual components may have their own controllers which may be viewed as forming part of the overall system controller. An exemplary controller is a programmable logic controller (PLC). In addition, the system includes a container support and/or transport assembly, such as the illustrated conveyor 36 which may have portions thereof powered for transport of the container from one station to the next under the control of the controller as further discussed below.
In conjunction with signals from the void measuring device 24, the controller determines the container height, which it then uses to control the conveyor 36 or other container support and/or the dunnage dispenser to position the dispenser outlet in proximity to an open side of the container. The controller also can determine the void volume in the container based on signals from the void measuring device. The controller can then control the dunnage dispenser to dispense a quantity of dunnage to fill the void. A larger void volume might require a longer length of dunnage, for example.
Therefore, in accordance with an automated packing process according to the invention, a container 14 is erected by the box erector 18 and moved to the product loading station 22 where one or more articles 16 are placed in the container 14. The container 14 is then moved to the dunnage filling station 28 where dunnage is automatically dispensed into the container to fill the void in the container. The container is then passed through the box sealer 32 where the container 14 is closed and sealed for shipping. All of these steps can be performed automatically. However, the present invention focuses on automatic performance of the dunnage filling and container closing operations, thereby negating the need for a packer who in the past was needed to perform these operations albeit with the aid of automated equipment.
The packing system 10 also includes a container support for supporting a container for the dunnage filling system 12 to fill the void therein with dunnage. The container support can include a table, a stand, a conveyor or other surface that can support the container 14 for receipt of the dunnage strip. The container support can include a transport device for transporting a container through one or more stations in the packing system 10. The conveyor 36 is controllably started and stopped to move the container 14 through the packing system 10, and can include one continuous conveyor or a plurality of conveyor segments. In the illustrated embodiment, the container support is in the form of a conveyor 36. The conveyor 36 or other container support can include a positioning device to register or otherwise position the container 14 relative to and aligned with an outlet of the dunnage dispenser 26.
As shown in
A typical shipping container or box 14 is shown in
The conveyor 36, and particularly the second conveyor segment 52, transports the container 14 to the dunnage filling or dispensing station 28 where a positioning assembly 90 positions the container 14 relative to an outlet 92 of a dunnage dispenser 12. The positioning assembly 90 includes one or more movable members 94 that engage the container 14 to guide and move the container 14 relative to the conveyor segment 52, and thereby align the open side of the container 14 with the outlet 92. The illustrated pair of movable members 94 engage opposing side walls 74 of the container 14 and laterally center the container on the conveyor segment 52. The flaps 80 and 82 of a container 14 are upright if not vertical. As oriented by the positioning assembly, two of the flaps 82 generally extend parallel to the direction of motion 122 imparted by the conveyor 36 to the container 14, and the other two flaps 80 extend perpendicular to the conveyor direction 122. The positioning assembly 70 thus positions the container 14 in a filling zone at the dunnage filling station 28, ready for receipt of dunnage from the outlet 92 of the dispenser 60. The second conveyor segment 52 can be stopped or the positioning assembly can hold the container 14 in place against movement of the conveyor segment 52, whereby the container 14 can be filled with dunnage while stationary. Alternatively, the conveyor segment 52 can be controllably moved while dunnage is being dispensed into the container 14. After dunnage is fed into the container 14, the second conveyor segment 52 passes the container 14 to the third conveyor segment 54 which transports the container 14 past the container sealer 32 where the process of closing the container 14 for shipment is completed.
The dunnage filling system 12 includes a dunnage dispenser 26 for dispensing dunnage into the box 14 at the dunnage filling station 28. The dunnage filling system 12 shown in
An exemplary dunnage converter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,589, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. An exemplary sheet stock material for use in such a converter includes at least one ply of kraft paper, which can be provided in a fan-folded stack as shown. Alternatively, a sheet stock material can be provided in roll form. The dunnage converter 98 includes a constant entry member 106 over which the sheet stock material is drawn into a funnel or converging chute 108 that inwardly gathers and randomly crumples the stock material as it is drawn therethrough to form the strip of dunnage.
The dunnage converter 98 also includes a pair of rotating feed members 109, 110 that pull the sheet stock material 100 through the funnel 108 and then feed the crumpled strip from the funnel 108 into a dispensing chute 112 that terminates at the outlet 92 of the dunnage dispenser 96. The dunnage converter 98 also includes a separating mechanism 111 for separating a length of the dunnage strip at a separating location upstream of the dispenser outlet 92 and upstream of a device that is operative to feed a trailing portion or end of the separated length of dunnage strip out of the dispenser outlet. The separating mechanism 111 can include a controllably movable cutting blade for separating a length of dunnage. In general, the rotating feed members 109 stop, then a movable cutting blade crosses the path of the strip of dunnage 104. The trailing end 118 of the separated strip of dunnage 104 is then free from its connection to the remaining stock material in the dunnage converter 98.
Adjacent the outlet 92, the dunnage dispenser 96 includes a pusher 114 for pushing the trailing end 118 of the dunnage strip 104 lengthwise out the outlet 92 and preferably propelling it toward the container support and into a capture zone within the confines of the open container 14, whereby upon closing the container 14 the dunnage strip, and particularly the trailing end of the strip, will be captured therein. The illustrated pusher 114 includes a pair of rotating members 115, 116 between which the strip of dunnage 104 is propelled. The rotating members 115 and 116 preferably are resilient members, such as brushes, paddle wheels or rollers that have resilient bristles, paddle wheels or covers that resiliently frictionally engage and feed the dunnage strip, preferably without damaging its cushioning or void-filling properties. If the pusher 114 only engages the trailing end of the dunnage strip, however, some loss of cushioning or void-filling properties may be acceptable. Other kinds of pushers can be used in place of or in addition to the illustrated rotating members. For example, an air blast or jet can be used to assist the dunnage in moving into the container 14. An exemplary rotating member is a rotatable, generally cylindrical brush, which allows the rotating member to engage and slip against the strip of dunnage 104 without damaging it. The rotating brushes 115 and 116 can be rotated at an effective tangential speed that is greater than the speed at which the rotating feed members 109 and 110, whereby the brushes can slip relative to the strip of dunnage 104 but will move the trailing end of the strip through the outlet 92 and propel it into the confines of the container 14.
In addition to the dunnage dispenser 96, the dunnage filling system 12 also may have associated therewith a container closer with at least one closer member to close or hold closed a cover or one or more flaps of a container. In this embodiment, the dunnage filling system 12 includes a flap-closing assembly at the dunnage filling station 28, with at least one first movable member for at least partially closing at least one flap of a container 14 at the dunnage filling station 28. The illustrated flap-closing assembly includes a pair of flap pushers 120 on opposing sides of the container 14 that are mounted for rotation about an axis at an upper end thereof. The position of the illustrated flap pushers 120 is controlled by respective pneumatic actuators 124. Other means for moving the flap pushers 120 against the flaps 80 of the container 14, such as hydraulics, electric motors, solenoid, etc. can be used in place of or in addition to the pneumatic actuators 124 to move the flap pushers 120. Moreover, other means may be employed to move the flaps, in addition to or in place of the illustrated movable members. For example, air jets could be used to push the flaps inwardly to a closed position, or to an inclined position against a side of the guide chute 112.
The flap-closing assembly uses one or more flap pushers 120 to push one or more flaps inwardly from an upright ready position (
To facilitate closing the container 14 further and to ensure that the trailing end of the strip 104 of dunnage is captured within the container 14, the flap-closing assembly also includes a second movable member with a generally horizontal surface that is movable relative to the conveyor 36 or other container support to move the flaps from the inclined partially-closed position (
The rails 130 preferably engage the distal ends of the inclined flaps 80 when the flap pushers 120 retract to prevent the flaps 80 from returning to their upright position. The rails 130 preferably hold at least one flap closed as the container 14 is moved from the dunnage filling station 28. Although the flap-closing assembly only moves the flaps 80 to a closed position, and those flaps might not completely close the open side of the container 14, the flap-closing assembly does partially close the container by moving at least one flap to its closed position. The confines of the container include a space bounded by the extent of the flaps 80 and 82 and the side walls 74 of the container 14. The flaps 80 further define a capture zone between their upright open position and their substantially horizontal closed position, whereby in moving the flaps 80 to the closed position the flaps 80 will engage and hold any dunnage in the capture zone within the container.
In the illustrated embodiment, the rails 130 are mounted to the dispensing chute 112 with the bottom surface thereof at or below the outlet 92. Thus, to move the rails 130 and thus close the flaps, the dunnage converter 98 and the dispensing chute 112 are mounted for controlled vertical movement toward and away from the conveyor 36 and the containers 14 moving thereon. For filling a container 14, the outlet 92 of the dispenser 96 typically is positioned near a top of the upright flaps 80 and 82 of the container 14. Upon pushing the flaps 80 toward a horizontal orientation, the outlet 92 generally is near the fold line 84 at the top of the side walls 74 of the container 14. Both of these positions of the outlet 92 can vary with the size of the container 14. The dunnage filling system can be programmed to position the outlet 92 of the dispenser 96 at different heights relative to both the container support and the container, both for dispensing dunnage and for closing the flaps 80, to accommodate different size containers 14. The conveyor 36 then moves the container 14 out of the filling zone and the dunnage filling station 28 while holding the flaps 80 down (
Another embodiment of an automatic dunnage filling system 140 according to the present invention is shown schematically in
The dunnage dispenser 142 also includes a dispensing assembly 148 that receives the strip of dunnage 150 from the converter 146, and then guides and feeds the dunnage strip through an outlet 156 of the dispenser 142 and into a container 152. In
As in the dispensing chute 112 (
In contrast to the dispensing chute 112 (
As shown in
Additionally or alternatively, the dunnage dispenser can include a flexible portion (not shown), for example, to facilitate directing the dunnage to specific voids in a container. As a further alternative, the outlet can be fixed and aligned with a movable curved or inclined guide surface, that is movable to direct dunnage fed from the outlet to the container and/or a desired location within the container. This guide surface can be mounted downstream of the outlet for rotation about an axis that is parallel to the axis of the outlet, and/or the outlet can be pivotally mounted to a gimbal to dispense the dunnage in a desired direction. Although the outlet of the dunnage dispenser and/or the container support can be guided manually or semi-automatically by an operator to fill the void as the dunnage dispenser automatically dispenses dunnage, the relative movement of the outlet and the container support preferably is automatically controlled based on information received from a contour sensor, for example, that determines the contour of the interior of the container and its contents.
In
Alternatively, the container support can include a platform that is separate from the conveyor, as shown in
Another automatic dunnage filling system 300 is shown in
The collection chamber 314 has an upstream opening 320 for receiving the strip of dunnage 310 from the accumulating chamber 312 and a downstream opening or outlet 322 for dispensing the dunnage into the container 324. The strip of dunnage 310 received in the collection chamber 314 randomly folds and curls on itself along its length as it collects in the chamber, just as the strip of dunnage does within the confines of the side walls and the flaps of the container in the embodiment of
A pusher, in this case a plunger 326 having a cross-section that approximates a cross-section of the collection chamber 314, pushes the dunnage from the collection chamber 314, through the outlet 322 and into the container 324. The downstream opening or outlet 322 can be left open such that some of the collected dunnage can pass therethrough before the balance is pushed out. The plunger 326 generally stops near the top of the fold lines 328 for the flaps 330 of the container 324, and can extend into the container 324 somewhat given the resilient nature of most dunnage. In addition, the plunger 326 includes a resilient cushion 332 on its end face made of foam rubber, for example, that contacts the dunnage being pushed from the chamber 314. The cushion 332 helps to promote the filling of all parts of the void around the one or more objects in the container 324 as the dunnage strip 310 is pushed into the container. This dunnage filling system 300 is particularly well-suited for top-filling a container with a substantially uniform-depth void in an upper portion of the container 324, which generally is above the objects placed in the container for packing.
Although not necessary for all situations, the illustrated collection chamber 314 also includes a movable closure member or retainer 334 that is movable between a retention position that blocks the downstream opening 322 of the collection chamber 314 to retain the dunnage 310 therein, and a discharge position that allows the dunnage 310 to pass through the outlet 322 and out of the collection chamber 314. Alternatively, the retainer could include resilient members that hold the dunnage within the chamber but that allow the dunnage to pass when the plunger pushes against the dunnage. The retainer 334 holds the dunnage 310 in the chamber 314 and encourages it to fold therein as the desired amount or length of dunnage 310 is fed into and collected in the collection chamber 314. The retainer 334 also holds the dunnage 310 in the collection chamber 314 while a container 324 is registered relative to the outlet 322. Then the retainer 334 is moved to its open or discharge position and the plunger 326 pushes the entire quantity of dunnage into the container 324 to fill the void therein. Put another way, the chamber 314 is charged with a predetermined quantity of dunnage, and then that dunnage charge is pushed through the outlet and into the void in a container. If the retainer is omitted, the leading end of the dunnage strip 310 can pass through the outlet 322 and into the container 324. Once the desired amount of dunnage 310 has entered the collection chamber 314, the plunger 326 pushes the trailing end of the dunnage 310 into the container 324. In this case, however, the container 324 generally must be in place before the leading end of the dunnage 310 passes through the outlet 322.
Another dunnage filling system 350 is shown in
Various alternative types of collection chambers are shown in
In
In
In
In
The speed with which the dunnage is fed into the collection chamber, combined with the stiffness and/or other qualities of the dunnage and the dimensions of the space in the collection chamber into which the dunnage is fed, cause the dunnage to undulate back and forth across the width or depth of the collection chamber, curling or folding along its length. As shown in
In yet another collection chamber 354 shown in
As shown in
Each collection chamber 474, 476, 478 and 480 has a different cross-sectional size or shape for use with a particular container and/or volume of dunnage to be dispensed. The plurality of collection chambers 474, 476, 478 and 480 are arranged on a carrousel 482 that positions a selected chamber for use. This dunnage filling system 470 also includes a void sensing device 484 for sensing a void volume in a container 486, and a controller 490 in communication with the void sensing device 484 and the dispenser 472 to control the amount of dunnage to be dispensed into the container. The controller 490 can also selectively control the carrousel 482 to position a selected collection chamber for use based on information from the void sensing device 484.
Thus the dunnage filling system provided by the present invention provides a number of ways to automatically dispense a strip of dunnage into a container to fill a void around one or more objects in the container, thereby minimizing or eliminating the efforts of a packer to guide or place the dunnage, as well as the requirement to have a packer to ensure that the voids are in fact filled. The packer is thereby freed to perform other tasks.
Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain embodiment or embodiments, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading and understanding this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described integers (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such integers are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any integer that performs the specified function of the described integer (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment of the invention.
This invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/664,543, filed Mar. 23, 2005, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/625,356, filed Nov. 5, 2004, both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US05/40458 | 11/7/2005 | WO | 00 | 5/7/2007 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60625356 | Nov 2004 | US | |
| 60664543 | Mar 2005 | US |
