Claims
- 1. A method of opening flat folded cases, comprising the steps of:
- storing a plurality of flat-folded cases horizontally in a magazine, said flat-folded cases forming a pile of cases in said magazine;
- lifting an uppermost case from said pile in said magazine at a magazine station, with an end panel of said uppermost case attracted to and held by a suction cup;
- said suction cup being mounted on a shaft which is slidably supported in a vertical direction on a pivotable arm, and wherein a spring means is coupled to the shaft to press the suction cup onto said end panel of said uppermost case;
- said step of lifting an uppermost case comprising raising said pivotable arm and applying a compression force on said suction cup by means of said spring means such that said compression force applied on said suction cup decreases as said rotatable arm rises to lift said uppermost case;
- forming a gap between said uppermost case and a next lower case as said uppermost case is lifted, thereby allowing air to flow in said gap in an increasing amount as said gap increases during said lifting, to prevent lifting of said next lower case with said uppermost case;
- folding a bottom upper-inner flap of the end panel of said uppermost case downward at the same time said uppermost case is being lifted, while pressing said suction cup onto the end panel by said compression force;
- transferring said uppermost case from said magazine station to a flap-folding station after said bottom upper-inner flap is folded downward so as to open the case in preparation for subsequent folding of other bottom flaps thereof;
- folding a bottom lower-inner flap and a pair of bottom outer flaps of the opened case at said flap-folding station;
- transferring the case from said flap-folding station to a sealing station; and
- sealing the folded bottom outer flaps of the case at said sealing station to form an erected open case.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the lifting step comprises lifting said uppermost case against the weight of a roller contacting a side panel of said uppermost case.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of flat-folded cases in said pile are of the same size or different sizes and the center line of the end panel of each flat-folded case is aligned with a reference line Xo of said magazine station, the cases being continuously processed to open them one by one.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said folding of said bottom upper inner flap comprises rotating said bottom upper inner flap by 180.degree. around the center of the end panel of said flat-folded case, with said end panel attracted to and held by the suction cup.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, where said magazine station is a shuttle-type of magazine station.
- 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said magazine station is a rotary type of magazine station.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said pivotable arm is supported at a position separate from said magazine.
- 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
- said flat-folded cases are placed in said magazine, with lower edges thereof aligned with a reference line Yo parallel to the transport direction of said cases, and with a center line of the end panels thereof aligned with a reference line Xo of said magazine;
- said flap-folding station has a reference line Xfc parallel to the reference line Xo and spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined distance;
- said sealing station has a reference line Xcs parallel to the reference line Xo and spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined distance; and
- the lower-inner flap of a case is folded, and the outer flaps thereof are then folded, while the case is at the flap-folding station with its lower edge aligned with the reference line Yo and the center line of its end panel aligned with the reference line Xfc.
- 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein:
- said flat-folded case is transported from said magazine to said flap-folding station, with its end panel attracted to and held by the suction cup attached to the pivotable arm, by pivoting the arm over a predetermined angle; and
- said case is transported from said flap-folding station to said sealing station along a substantially straight path.
- 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein:
- a first plate, which is movable up and down, is caused to contact a lower edge of the end panel of a case placed on said sealing station, and to also contact upper sides of left and right outer flaps of the case on said sealing station;
- a second plate, which is movable horizontally, is moved to contact an upper-inner flap and outer flaps of the case, thereby pushing the case forward until the case abuts on a front guide, whereby opposing edges of the left and right outer flaps abut on each other; and
- a sealing means is applied to the abutting edges of the left and right flaps at the sealing station, thereby sealing the bottom of the case.
- 11. A method of opening flat folded cases, comprising the steps of:
- storing a plurality of flat-folded cases horizontally in a magazine, said flat-folded cases forming a pile of cases in said magazine;
- aligning a lower edge of a case horizontally stacked on said magazine with a first reference line Yo parallel to a transport direction of the case, and aligning a center line of an end panel of the case with a second reference line Xo intersecting with the first reference line Yo, so that flat-folded cases of different sizes can be handled;
- lifting an uppermost case against a weight of a roller contacting a side panel of the case, with an end panel thereof attracted to and held by a suction cup;
- folding a bottom upper-inner flap of the end panel downward about said lower edge at the same time the case is being lifted, said bottom upper-inner flap pushing open a lower one of bottom outer flaps during said folding of said bottom upper-inner flap;
- folding a bottom lower-inner flap and bottom outer flaps of the case at a flap-folding station after moving the case a predetermined distance in said transport direction from said magazine to said flap-folding station; and
- sealing the folded bottom outer flaps of the case at a sealing station.
- 12. A machine for opening flat-folded cases, comprising:
- means for horizontally storing a plurality of flat folded cases in a magazine, said flat-folded cases forming a pile of cases in said magazine;
- lifting means for lifting an uppermost case stored horizontally in said magazine, and for folding downwardly a bottom upper-inner flap of an end panel of the case, thereby pushing open a bottom outer flap of the case and opening the case;
- said lifting means including a suction cup means for attracting the end panel of the case end for lifting the case from said magazine; and a flap-folding member which pivots at the same time the case is being lifted so as to contact and push downwardly said bottom upper-inner flap, thereby folding the bottom upper-inner flap of the end panel downward and opening the case in its lifted state; said suction cup means including a shaft, a suction cup attached to the lower end of said shaft, and a compression spring means for pressing said suction cup onto the end panel, said spring means being wound around the shaft;
- flap-folding means for folding a bottom lower-inner flap and outer flaps of the case after said case is opened in said lifted state; and
- means for sealing the folded outer flaps after being folded by said flap-folding means.
- 13. The machine according to claim 12, further comprising a roller means arranged for contacting with a side panel of said uppermost case and for preventing the side panel of said uppermost case from raising in its entirety while the case is being lifted.
- 14. The machine according to claim 13, wherein said roller means is mounted on a supporting member slidably supported in the vertical and horizontal directions on said magazine.
- 15. The machine according to claim 14, wherein said supporting member is supported by a slider which is slidably mounted on a vertical guide bar arranged on said magazine.
- 16. The machine according to claim 12, wherein said flap-folding member opens each flat-folded case after it has been rotated by 180.degree. around the center of the end panel of the flat-folded case with the end panel attracted to and held by said suction cup.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
62-259031 |
Oct 1987 |
JPX |
|
63-231188 |
Sep 1988 |
JPX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/256,391, filed Oct. 11, 1988, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2361027 |
Jun 1975 |
DEX |
1502081 |
Feb 1978 |
GBX |
2058706 |
Apr 1981 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Leaflet Concerning "Boxmaster", Published by Itoman Engineering Co., Ltd. |
Leaflet Concerning "Carton Sealer SM11", Published by Kyowa Co., Ltd. |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
256391 |
Oct 1988 |
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