The present disclosure relates to case-handling systems, and more particularly to case-handling systems with flap openers that open the upper major flaps of a case.
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 and then 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. Before the upper minor flaps are folded inwardly, it's important that the upper major flaps first be folded outwardly to avoid interfering with the folding of the upper minor flaps. If the upper major flaps are folded inwardly at this point, such as is shown in
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a case-handling system including movable flap openers positionable relative to a case and operable to fold the upper major flaps of the case outwardly before the upper minor flaps of the case are folded inwardly and closed.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a case-handling system including a conveyor, a rotatable first flap opener comprising a first flap-engaging finger, a rotatable second flap opener comprising a second flap-engaging finger and spaced apart from the first flap opener, one or more actuators operably connected to the first and second flap openers and configured to rotate the first and second flap openers in opposing rotational directions, and a controller operably connected to the conveyor to drive the conveyor and to the one or more actuators to rotate the first and second flap openers. The first and second flap openers are positionable such that, when a case having first and second upper major flaps and first and second upper minor flaps is conveyed by the conveyor between and past the first and second flap openers: the first flap opener engages an inner surface of the first upper major flap to fold the first upper major flap outwardly, and the second flap opener engages an inner surface of the second upper major flap to fold the second upper major flap outwardly.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of operating a case-handling system. The method includes when a case having open first and second upper major flaps and first and second upper minor flaps is at a flap opening position: causing a first flap opener to engage an inner surface of the first upper major flap to fold the first upper major flap outwardly, and causing a second flap opener to engage an inner surface of the second upper major flap to fold the second upper major flap outwardly.
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 system including movable flap openers positionable relative to a case and operable to fold the upper major flaps of the case outwardly before the upper minor flaps of the case are folded inwardly and closed.
The conveyors 140, 160, and 180 cooperate to move cases into, through, and out of the case-handling system 120. The infeed conveyor 140 is positioned upstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300, the outfeed conveyor 180 is positioned downstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300, and the central conveyor 160 is between the infeed and outfeed conveyors and below the flap closer and case sealer 300. The infeed and outfeed conveyors 140 and 180 each include a multiple rollers 142 and 182, respectively, that support the cases. The central conveyor 160 includes multiple parallel belts 162 and 164 that support the cases. The rollers 142 and 182 and the belts 162 and 164 are driven in tandem or independently by one or more drive assemblies (not shown) operated under the control of the controller 600.
The infeed conveyor 140 is operable to deliver each case to a case-centering/flap-opening position adjacent the centering assembly 400 and the flap-opener assembly 500. After the upper major flaps of the case have been opened, the conveyor 140 is operable to move the case from that position to the central conveyor 160. The conveyor 160 moves the case below and through the flap closer and case sealer 300 and delivers the case to the outfeed conveyor 180, at which point the minor and major flaps of the case have been closed and sealed. The conveyor 180 moves the case away from the case-handling system 120.
The centering assembly 400 is positioned upstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300 and along the infeed conveyor 140 and is operable to center cases on the infeed conveyor 140. 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 140, 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 140. 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 flap-opener assembly 500 is positioned upstream of the flap closer and case sealer 300, along the infeed conveyor 140 near its outfeed end, and adjacent the centering assembly 400 and is operable to fold the case's upper major flaps outwardly before the case's upper minor flaps are folded inwardly and closed. The flap-opener assembly 500 includes: first and second flap openers 510a and 510b; first and second flap-opener supports 555a and 555b supporting the first and second flap openers 510a and 510b, respectively; and one or more flap-opener actuators including (but not limited to) first and second rotators 560a and 560b.
As best shown in
Similarly, the second flap opener 510b includes: a cylindrical drive shaft 520b; a tubular finger support 530b; a first set of flap-engaging fingers 540b, 542b, 544b, and 546b; and a second set of flap-engaging fingers 550b, 552b, 554b, and 556b. The drive shaft 520b has a rotational (and longitudinal) axis A510b. The finger support 530b is fixedly mounted to and circumscribes the drive shaft 520b such that the finger support 530b and the drive shaft 520b are coaxial and both have the rotational axis A510b. The first set of flap-engaging fingers 540b, 542b, 544b, and 546b are connected to and extend radially outwardly from the finger support 530b and are longitudinally aligned with the shared rotational axis A510b. The second set of flap-engaging fingers 550b, 552b, 554b, and 556b are connected to and extend radially outwardly from the first finger support 530b and are longitudinally aligned with and spaced-apart along the shared rotational axis A510b. The first and second sets of flap-engaging fingers extend in opposite directions from one another such that the flap-engaging fingers 540b and 550b are generally parallel, the flap-engaging fingers 542b and 552b are generally parallel, the flap-engaging fingers 544b and 554b are generally parallel, and the flap-engaging fingers 546b and 556b are generally parallel. The first and second sets of flap-engaging fingers are fixed in rotation with the finger support 530b such that they rotate with the finger support 530b and the drive shaft 520b about the rotational axis A510b, as described below.
In this example embodiment, the flap-engaging fingers are flexible and, specifically, are formed from individual springs each having a relatively low stiffness and connected at one end of the finger support 530a. The flap-engaging fingers may be formed from any suitable flexible material or component(s) in other embodiments, such as brushes or flexible polymeric material. In alternative embodiments, the flap-engaging fingers are rigid and inflexible, and may be formed from any suitable rigid material or component(s), such as metal or inflexible polymeric rods. In this example embodiment, each flap-engaging finger is separate from the other flap-engaging fingers. In other embodiments, each pair of oppositely extending flap-engaging fingers (e.g., flap-engaging fingers 540a and 550a) is formed from a single component extending through the drive finger support 530a and the drive shaft 520a. In various embodiments, the flap-engaging fingers of a given set are not longitudinally aligned, but rather are radially spaced as well as longitudinally spaced. In certain such embodiments, are arranged in a helical manner.
In various embodiments, the flap openers are positioned prior to the minor flaps being folded inwards. In various embodiments, the flap openers continually rotating and the flexible fingers facilitate this continual rotations without causing interference with the minor flaps. In various embodiments, the case can be presented in a controlled manner where the fingers are poised to contact the major flaps while avoiding the possibility of contacting the leading and/or trailing minor flaps. In such embodiments, the fingers can be less flexible or solid.
As best shown in
As described in more detail below, in operation, the controller 600 controls the appropriate actuators to move the flap openers 510a and 510b relative to a case C to, as best shown in
Each flap opener has a suitable length relative to the lengths of the upper major flaps of the cases that will be processed by the case-handling system such that the flap openers can apply sufficient repeated forces against the inner surfaces of the upper major flaps at one or more positions of the case as the case is moved downstream to ensure that the upper major flaps are sufficiently opened. The quantity of fingers and the length of the flap openers can vary, and in various different embodiments, each flap opener can be longer than the length of the longest case that the case sealer will process, equal to the length of the longest case that the case sealer will process, or shorter than the length of the longest case that the case sealer will process.
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 160 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 UMi1 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 160 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 160 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 system 120, 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 flap-opener 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 system 120.
In operation, the controller 600 controls the infeed conveyor 140 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, one of the sensors S (such as a photocell) is triggered. This causes the controller 600 to: stop the infeed conveyor 140 and move the centering arms 420a and 420b laterally inwardly to center the case C on the infeed conveyor 140. The controller 600 also controls the flap-opener actuators to move the flap openers 510a and 510b to their respective flap-opening positions and to begin rotating the flap openers. After the case C is centered and before the centering arms 420a and 420b return to their rest configuration, the controller 600 controls the infeed conveyor 140 to continue moving the case C. Continued movement of the case C causes the case C to pass between the flap openers 510a and 510b. If the upper major flaps of the case C are folded inwardly, the flap-engaging fingers of the flap openers 510a and 510b engage the inner surfaces of the flaps and fold the flaps outward, as shown in
The controller 600 determines the proper position of the flap openers based on the size of the case (e.g., its height and width) and the size of the flap opener (e.g., the length of the flap-engaging fingers). In certain embodiments, one or more of the sensors S detect the height, width, and/or other measurements of the case upstream of the flap-opener assembly, and the controller determines where to position the flap openers 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 flap openers from another component in the packaging line.
As noted above, in this example embodiment, the flap-engaging fingers are flexible. The flexible flap-engaging fingers engage and apply outward forces to the inner surfaces of the upper major flaps to fold (pivot) the upper major flaps outwardly along their respective fold lines. As they apply this force, they may bend so as not apply too much force to the upper major flap and, therefore, not damage the upper major flap by such engagement. After engaging the upper major flap and applying such outward forces to the upper major flap, each flexible flap-engaging finger disengages the upper major flap and returns to its resting position shown in
In this example embodiment, the sets of flap-engaging fingers extend in opposite directions from the finger support such that every half rotation of the finger support can cause one of the sets of fingers (or a subset thereof) to engage an upper major flap. The longitudinal spacing of the flap-engaging fingers is set such that if they engage either of the upper minor flaps, the upper minor flaps can extend through those spaces or cause the flap-engaging fingers to bend, meaning that the flap opener will not substantially change the positions of such upper minor flaps.
The present disclosure provides method for closing and sealing cases of different sizes using a single case-handling system that ensures the upper major flaps are opened before the upper minor flaps are closed.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/265,630, filed Dec. 17, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated hereby by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63265630 | Dec 2021 | US |