The present disclosure relates to case-handling devices, and more particularly to case-handling devices with folding guides that facilitate proper case-flap folding.
Every day, companies around the world pack millions of items in cases (such as cases formed from corrugated) to prepare them for shipping.
The first and second minor side walls EW1 and EW2 are integrally connected to opposing side edges, respectfully, of the first major side wall SW1 and are separated from the first major side wall SW1 via vertical fold lines (such as creases or scores) F1 and F2, respectively. The first and second minor side walls EW1 and EW2 are also integrally connected to opposing side edges, respectfully, of the second major side wall SW2 and are separated from the second major side wall SW2 via vertical fold lines F3 and F4, respectively. Accordingly, the first and second minor side walls EW1 and EW2 and the first and second major side walls SW1 and SW2 are all integrally connected.
The first upper and lower major flaps UMa1 and LMa1 are integrally connected to the upper and lower edges, respectfully, of the first major side wall SW1 and separated from the first major side wall SW1 via horizontal fold lines F5 and F6, respectively. The second upper and lower major flaps UMa2 and LMa2 are integrally connected to the upper and lower edges, respectfully, of the second major side wall SW2 and separated from the second major side wall SW2 via horizontal fold lines F7 and F8, respectively. The first upper and lower minor flaps UMi1 and LMi1 are integrally connected to the upper and lower edges, respectfully, of the first minor side wall EW1 and separated from the first minor side wall EW1 via horizontal fold lines F9 and F10 (numbered for ease of reference but not shown), respectively. The second upper and lower minor flaps UMi2 and LMi2 are integrally connected to the upper and lower edges, respectfully, of the second minor side wall EW2 and separated from the second minor side wall EW2 via horizontal fold lines F11 and F12, respectively.
To close the top of the case after product (and, if needed, dunnage) is loaded in the case C, first, the upper minor flaps UMi1 and UMi2 are folded inwardly (i.e., toward one another) along their respective fold lines F9 and F11. It's important that the upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 are folded outwardly at this point because if they're not they can block the upper minor flaps UMi1 and UMi2 from being folded inwardly or otherwise interfere with closing. Second, the upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 are folded inwardly (i.e., toward one another) along their respective fold lines F5 and F7. After being closed, the upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 are sealed via pressure-sensitive tape.
Case-handling devices, such as case erectors, case formers, and case sealers, partially or fully automate the flap-closing and case-sealing processes. The meteoric rise in e-commerce has led to faster throughput and cases made from less robust (and cheaper) material. Because of this, when the upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 are folded outwardly to make room for folding the upper minor flaps UMi1 and UMa2, known case-handling devices occasionally fail to fold them along their fold lines. Folding the upper major flaps above or below their respective fold lines deforms or damages the case, can jam the case-handling device, and can result in inadequate sealing of the upper major flaps, ultimately reducing the integrity of the case (and the product inside) during the transit process.
For instance, in one circumstance, an upper major flap can be folded above its fold line.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a case-handling device including movable folding guides positionable relative to a case to facilitate folding the case's upper major flaps outwardly along their respective fold lines before the case's upper minor flaps are closed.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a case-handling device including a support, spaced-apart first and second folding guides, wherein the first and second folding guides are vertically and laterally movable relative to the support, one or more actuators operably connected to the first and second folding guides and configured to vertically and laterally move the first and second folding guides, and a controller operably connected to the one or more actuators. The controller is configured to, when a case having open first and second upper major flaps and first and second upper minor flaps is between the first and second folding guides: control the one or more actuators to move the first folding guide to a position adjacent a first fold line separating an outer surface of a first major side wall of the case and the first upper major flap; and control the one or more actuators to move the second folding guide to a position adjacent a second fold line separating an outer surface of a second major side wall of the case and the second upper major flap.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of operating a case-handling device. The method includes, when a case having open first and second upper major flaps and first and second upper minor flaps is between a first folding guide and a second folding guide: moving the first folding guide to a position adjacent a first fold line separating an outer surface of a first major side wall of the case and the first upper major flap, and moving the second folding guide to a position adjacent a second fold line separating an outer surface of a second major side wall of the case and the second upper major flap.
While the systems, devices, and methods described herein may be embodied in various forms, the drawings show, and the specification describes certain exemplary and non-limiting embodiments. Not all of the components shown in the drawings and described in the specification may be required, and certain implementations may include additional, different, or fewer components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components; the shapes, sizes, and materials of the components; and the manners of connection of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. Unless otherwise indicated, any directions referred to in the specification reflect the orientations of the components shown in the corresponding drawings and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further, terms that refer to mounting methods, such as coupled, mounted, connected, etc., are not intended to be limited to direct mounting methods, but should be interpreted broadly to include indirect and operably coupled, mounted, connected, and like mounting methods. This specification is intended to be taken as a whole and interpreted in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a case-handling device including a folding-guide assembly including folding guides shaped, sized, and positionable to relative to a case to facilitate folding the case's upper major flaps outwardly along their respective fold lines before the case's upper minor flaps are closed.
The conveyors 40, 60, and 80 cooperate to move cases into, through, and out of the case-handling system 20. The infeed conveyor 40 is positioned upstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300, the outfeed conveyor 80 is positioned downstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300, and the central conveyor 60 is between the infeed and outfeed conveyors and below the flap closer and case sealer 300. The infeed and outfeed conveyors 40 and 80 each include a multiple rollers 42 and 82, respectively, that support the cases. The central conveyor 60 includes multiple parallel belts 62 and 64 that support the cases. The rollers 42 and 82 and the belts 62 and 64 are driven in tandem or independently by one or more drive assemblies (not shown) operated under the control of the controller 600.
The conveyor 40 is operable to deliver each case to a case-centering/flap-opening position adjacent the centering assembly 400 and the folding-guide assembly 500. After the upper major flaps of the case have been opened, the conveyor 40 is operable to move the case from that position to the conveyor 60. The conveyor 60 moves the case below and through the flap closer and case sealer 300 and delivers the case to the outfeed conveyor 80, at which point the flaps of the case have been closed and sealed. The conveyor 80 moves the case away from the case-handling system 20.
The centering assembly 400 is positioned upstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300 and along the infeed conveyor 40 and is operable to center cases on the infeed conveyor 40. The centering assembly 400 includes first and second centering arms 420a and 420b and a centering-arm actuator (not shown). The centering arms 420a and 420b are positioned on opposite sides of the infeed conveyor 40, extend generally parallel to a direction of travel of cases through the case-handling system 20 sealer 10, and are movable laterally inward (relative to the direction of travel) to laterally center the case on the infeed conveyor 40. The centering-arm actuator is operably connected to the first and second centering arms 420a and 420b (either directly or via suitable linkages) to move the centering arms between: (1) a rest configuration (
The folding-guide assembly 500 is positioned upstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300, along the infeed conveyor 40, and adjacent the centering assembly 400 and is operable to facilitate folding the case's upper major flaps outwardly along their respective fold lines before the case's upper minor flaps are closed. The folding-guide assembly 500 includes: first and second folding guides 510a and 510, supports 512a and 514a connected to the first folding guide 510a, supports 512b and 514b connected to the second folding guide 510b, and one or more folding-guide actuators (not shown).
As best shown in
In this example embodiment, the supports 512a and 514a are connected to the first centering arm 420a, and the supports 512b and 514b are connected to the second centering arm 420b. This results in the folding guides 510a and 510b extending generally parallel to a direction of travel of cases through the case-handling system 20 and above the centering arms 420a and 420b, respectively. The folding guides 510a and 510b are also movable laterally inward and outward (relative to the direction of travel) with the centering arms 420a and 420b as the centering arms move between their rest and centering configurations. The folding-guide actuators are operably connected to the first and second folding guides 510a and 510b (via the supports) to move the folding guides upward and downward relative to the centering arms 420a and 420b, the infeed conveyor 40, and the cases. The folding-guide actuators may be any suitable type of actuator, such as motors or pneumatic cylinders fed with pressurized gas and controlled by one or more valves. The controller 600 is operably connected to the folding-guide actuators to control the folding-guide actuators to move the folding guides. Accordingly, in this example embodiment, the folding guides 510a and 510b are movable relative to cases laterally inward and outward and upward and downward under the control of one or more actuators. In this example embodiment, the folding guides 510a and 510b are coupled or otherwise configured such that they simultaneously move vertically and laterally, though in other embodiments they are not coupled as such.
As described in more detail below, in operation, the controller 600 controls the appropriate actuators to move the folding guides 510a and 510b relative to a case C such that, as best shown in
In other embodiments, the folding guides are not attached to and are vertically and laterally movable independently of the centering arms of the centering assembly. In these embodiments, the folding-guide actuators are operably connected to the first and second folding guides (via the supports) to move the folding guides upward and downward and laterally inward and outward relative to the centering arms, the infeed conveyor, and the cases, and the controller is operably connected to the folding-guide actuators to control the folding-guide actuators to move the folding guides.
In other embodiments, the shapes of one or more of the folding guide can vary such as, but not limited to being round, square, or triangular. In other embodiments, one or more of the folding guides include multiple connected or separate sections. In other embodiments, one or more of the folding guides can include one or more relatively small rollers or bearings.
The combined flap closer and case sealer 300 is operable to close the upper minor flaps of a case, then close the upper major flaps of the case, and then apply tape to the closed upper and lower major flaps. The combined flap closer and case sealer 300 includes a carriage 310 supported by and vertically movable relative to spaced-apart supports 312 and 314. The carriage 310 includes slide plates 322 and 324, a crossbar 330 attached to and extending between the slide plates 322 and 324, and an elongated support 340 attached to the crossbar 330. The slide plates 322 and 324 are slidably mounted to the supports 312 and 314. A carriage actuator (not shown) is operably connected to the carriage 310 and configured to move the carriage 310 vertically to adapt to cases of different heights. The controller 600 is operably connected to and configured to control the carriage actuator.
The support member 340 supports a stationary leading minor flap closer 342, a movable trailing minor flap closer 344, a first major flap closer 346, and a second major flap closer (not shown). More specifically, the stationary leading minor flap closer 342 extends downward from an underside of the support 340 and positioned, shaped, oriented, and otherwise is configured to engage the leading surface of the first upper minor flap UMi1 of a case C as central conveyor 60 moves the case C into contact with the stationary leading minor flap closer 342. Continued movement of the case C past the stationary leading minor flap closer 342 results in the first upper minor flap Until closing. The movable trailing minor flap closer 344 pivotably attached to the support 340 and configured to pivot downwardly (via a minor-flap-closer actuator (not shown) controlled by the controller 600) to engage and close the second upper minor flap UMi2 of the case C as the case moves under the combined flap closer and case sealer 300. The first and second major flap closers are positioned on opposite sides of the leading minor flap closer 342 and are positioned, shaped, oriented, and otherwise configured to engage and close the upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 of the case C as the central conveyor 60 moves the case C into contact with and past the major flap closers.
The flap closer and case sealer 300 also includes a tape applicator 380 that includes a tape cartridge 381 (partially shown) supporting a roll of tape 390. The tape applicator 380 is configured to apply tape from the roll 390 to the closed upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 and minor side walls of the case as the central conveyor 60 moves the case C beneath and past the tape cartridge 381.
The controller 600 controls, communicates with, and operates with the components of the case-handling device 20, including various actuators, drive assemblies, and sensors referenced above. The controller 600 is configured to control movement or operation of at least part of the conveyors, the combined flap closer and case sealer 300, the centering assembly 400, and the folding-guide assembly 500. The controller 600 can be any suitable type of controller (such as a programmable logic controller) that includes any suitable processing device(s) (such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, an integrated circuit, or an application-specific integrated circuit) and any suitable memory device(s) (such as random-access memory, read-only memory, or flash memory). The memory device(s) stores instructions executable by the processing device(s) to control operation of the case-handling device 20.
In operation, the controller 600 controls the infeed conveyor 40 to move a case C toward the flap closer and case sealer 300. When the case C is between the centering arms 420a and 420b of the centering assembly 400 and between the folding guides 510a and 510b of the folding-guide assembly 500, one of the sensors S (such as a photocell) is triggered. This causes the controller 600 to: stop the infeed conveyor 40, move the centering arms 420a and 420b laterally inwardly to center the case C on the infeed conveyor 40, and move the folding guides 510a and 510b until their respective bracing surfaces 516a and 516b engage (or in other embodiments, are slightly spaced-apart from) the respective outer surfaces of the major side walls SW1 and SW2 of the case C at or slightly below the upper fold lines F5 and F7. In other embodiments, the controller 600 does not stop the movement of the case, and in such embodiments, the controller can change speed of the movement of the case or cause the movement of the case to remain constant. After another component of the case-handling system 20 or an operator folds the upper major flaps UMa1 and UMa2 of the case C outwardly, the case C is moved onto the central conveyor 60. The central conveyor 60 moves the case C beneath the flap closer and case sealer 300, which closes the upper minor and major flaps and tapes them shut, as explained above.
The controller 600 determines the proper position of the folding guides based on the size of the case (e.g., its height and width). In certain embodiments, one or more of the sensors S detect the height, width, and/or other measurements of the case upstream of the folding-guide assembly, and the controller determines where to position the folding guides based on those measurements. In other embodiments, the controller receives the measurements from another component in the packaging line. In further embodiments, the controller receives instructions as to where to position the folding guides from another component in the packaging line.
The present disclosure thus provides methods for sealing cases of different sizes using a single case-handling device that includes a side wall securing method that better ensures that the upper major flaps will be bent along the upper fold lines for those upper major flaps. In various embodiments, the side wall securing method includes: (a) positioning the case at a flap opening position; and (b) moving folding guides inwardly to engage opposite outer side surfaces of the case slightly below the respective major fold lines for the case to brace such sides of the case, such that the upper major flaps will be more likely to be opened along the respective fold lines for those upper major flaps. In various embodiments, the method further includes moving the folding guides upwardly or downwardly such that the engagement of the opposite outer side surfaces of the case is slightly below the respective major fold lines for the case. The method thus better ensures that the upper major flaps of the case are folded outwardly along the respective fold lines of the case before the upper minor flaps of the case are closed, and better ensures that the upper major flaps of the case can be subsequently folded inwardly along the respective fold lines.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/265,623, filed Dec. 17, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63265623 | Dec 2021 | US |