Patent Application
20240132321
The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for the conveyance and separation of inflatable packaging materials. More specifically, this disclosure relates to systems and methods for the conveyance and separation of air pillows, including measurement, conveyance, and separation of pre-determined lengths of air pillows for efficient packing and void fill.
Systems and methods implementing inflatable packaging materials, such as rows or strands of air pillows, often require the operator to manually start/stop conveyance of the packaging materials. Namely, an operator initiates conveyance, such that inflatable packaging material is formed and subsequently discharged into a box or container; the inflatable packaging material is used as cushioning or void fill, protecting contents within the box or container. At some point during this conveyance process, the box or container includes sufficient inflatable packaging material. The operator then ceases conveyance and manually tears off an individual air pillow from a particular row or strand via a pre-defined perforation.
While this process generally provides for controlled conveyance of air pillows, it does not afford the operator with precise measurement capabilities as the air pillows are being formed and conveyed. The operator does not know how many air pillows have been conveyed, or the total length of an individual row or strand as it is being conveyed. This lack of information typically results in over-conveyance and, hence, waste. Too many air pillows are formed, conveyed, and thus discarded. Measurement of air pillow conveyance becomes all the more difficult when the particular geometry of the air pillow changes between packaging applications. For example, a first box may require larger air pillows, whereas a second box may require smaller air pillows. Thus, any conveyance measurement systems must be dynamically adjustable to accommodate varying size air pillows on an application-by-application basis.
Improved systems and methods for conveying, measuring, and separating inflatable packaging, such as air pillows, are therefore needed.
The systems and methods for conveying, measuring, and separating inflatable packaging disclosed herein improve on current packaging technology by implementing a conveyor that dynamically measures the total length or quantity of air pillows that are dispensed, as they are being dispensed. The systems herein may also automatically dispense predetermined lengths or volumes of inflatable packaging. Predetermined lengths or volumes may be manually input, by an operator, or automatically determined, by an upstream vision, void sensing, or other similar data analysis system. Predetermined lengths or volumes may also be calculated based on a known carton size and known carton contents. Via a powered separator assembly, the systems and methods herein provide for both automated control and improved tearing of air pillow strands in a controlled fashion, improving overall ease of use. A single inflator and dispensing device, via the systems herein, may advantageously provide inflated packaging to a distribution system that is servicing multiple pack stations.
In light of the disclosure herein, and without limiting the scope of the invention in any way, in a first aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, an inflatable packaging system includes an inflatable cushioning supply and a conveyance module. The conveyance module includes a sliding conveyor, a fixed conveyor, a belt-drive, and an encoder. The sliding conveyor is adjustable, relative to the fixed conveyor, such that a space between the sliding conveyor and the fixed conveyor is adjustable. The belt-drive displaces the inflatable cushioning supply through the space between the sliding conveyor and the fixed conveyor. The encoder is coupled to the belt-drive.
In a second aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system calculates a total length of inflatable cushioning supply that is displaced through the conveyance module.
In a third aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system calculates a total quantity of inflatable cushioning supply that is displaced through the conveyance module.
In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the inflatable cushioning supply is a strand of air pillows.
In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the conveyance module further includes a separator assembly.
In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly is configured to tear the inflatable cushioning supply at a perforation zone.
In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly tears the inflatable cushioning supply at the perforation zone by reversing the belt-drive.
In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly tears the inflatable cushioning supply at the perforation zone by over-driving the belt-drive.
In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly tears the inflatable cushioning supply at the perforation zone by over-driving and reversing the belt-drive.
In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly partially tears the inflatable cushioning supply at the perforation zone, such that the inflatable cushioning supply is configured for manual tearing via an operator.
In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly includes a plurality of hinged doors.
In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system further includes a proximity sensor.
In a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system further includes a spring. The spring is configured for biasing the sliding conveyor and the fixed conveyor towards one another.
In a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, an inflatable packaging system includes a strand of air pillows, a conveyance module, and a separator assembly. The conveyance module includes a sliding conveyor, a fixed conveyor, a belt-drive, and an encoder. The separator assembly is configured to tear the strand of air pillows at a perforation zone.
In a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the sliding conveyor is adjustable, relative to the fixed conveyor, such that a space between the sliding conveyor and the fixed conveyor is adjustable.
In a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the belt-drive displaces the strand of air pillows through the space between the sliding conveyor and the fixed conveyor. The encoder is coupled to the belt-drive.
In a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system calculates a total length or quantity of the strand of air pillows that is displaced through the conveyance module.
In an eighteenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the separator assembly tears the inflatable cushioning supply at the perforation zone by reversing the belt-drive.
In a nineteenth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system further includes a proximity sensor.
In a twentieth aspect of the present disclosure, which may be combined with any other aspect listed herein unless specified otherwise, the system further includes a spring. The spring is configured for biasing the sliding conveyor and the fixed conveyor towards one another.
Additional features and advantages of the disclosed devices, systems, and methods are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the Figures. The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the figures and description. Also, any particular embodiment does not have to have all of the advantages listed herein. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been selected for readability and instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter.
Understanding that figures depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not to be considered to be limiting the scope of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying figures. The figures are listed below.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specific the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or additional of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent”). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
With reference to the Figures,
Once inflated, the strands of air pillows are disposed into an integrated hopper 108, which is typically located below the inflation module 102. In an embodiment, the integrated hopper 108 includes an accumulation sensor, for example, to identify when the integrated hopper 108 is full or near-full of a strand of air pillows. It should be appreciated that the integrated hopper 108 is an optional accessory.
The inflatable packaging system 100 further includes the conveyance module 104. For example, conveyance module 104 may include an entry chute 110 and a dispenser head 112. The strand of air pillows (post-inflation) is received by the entry chute 110, and passes through the dispenser head 112. The dispenser head 112 is configured to dispense the strand of air pillows for an operator (e.g., into a partially filled crate, into an empty crate for filling, into the operator's hands for manual filling, or into integrated hopper 108). As disclosed in greater detail herein, dispenser head 112 includes a number of additional features, including sensors (e.g., for calculating the length of the strand of air pillows) and control features (e.g., for automated separation of the strand of air pillows at a specific perforation).
As illustrated in
Specifically, as illustrated by
In an alternate embodiment, the driven conveyors 118, 120 are roller driven conveyors, such that each driven conveyor in the pair includes an input roller and an output roller and a number of additional rollers, but no conveyor belt.
Generally, one or more of the rollers are powered by an electric motor. In an embodiment, each of the input rollers 124, 128 is powered by an individual electric motor. For example, fixed conveyor 118 includes a first electric motor powering input roller 124. Similarly, sliding conveyor 120 includes a second electric motor for powering input roller 128.
The strand of air pillows 122 is configured to be conveyed, through the conveyance module 104, via the pair of driven conveyors. For example, the input rollers 124, 128 are driven, which drive belts contacting either side of the strand of air pillows 122, such that the strand of air pillows 122 is conveyed through the dispenser head 112 from the input roller side to the output roller side.
At the output roller side of the dispenser head 112, the conveyance module 104 further includes a separator assembly 132. In an embodiment, separator assembly 132 is configured for controlled separation of the strand of air pillows 122 at a perforation zone. Separator assembly 132 is described in greater detail herein with respect to
As shown by
With reference to
In an embodiment, dispenser head 112 further includes one or more springs 138 coupled to each of fixed conveyor 118 and sliding conveyor 120; the springs ensure that these components are generally biased in a “closed” or “narrow” configuration. In an embodiment, linear actuators may be used to apply biasing force in place of, or in addition to, springs.
In an embodiment, dispenser head 112 is tilted on an angle, such that gravity biases the sliding conveyor 120 “toward” the fixed conveyor 118, ensuring that these components are generally biased in a “closed” or “narrow” configuration (not illustrated); in this particular embodiment, biasing force can be mechanically adjusted by modifying the weight of sliding conveyor 120 and/or the angle of tilt of the conveyors 118, 120.
In an alternate embodiment, fixed conveyor 1118 and sliding conveyor 120 are arranged horizontally (e.g., 90-degrees relative to the orientation illustrated in
As noted previously, dispenser head 112 includes a number of additional features, including sensors (e.g., for calculating the length of the strand of air pillows).
In an embodiment, dispenser head 112 includes a conveyor proximity sensor 140. For example, as discussed above, dispenser head 112 is customizable, to accommodate a variety of sizes and widths of air pillows. Conveyor proximity sensor 140 may be configured to measure the distance between sliding conveyor 120 and fixed conveyor 118, and subsequently communicate this distance to a controller and/or display for the operator. Alternatively, conveyor proximity sensor 140 may be configured to measure whether any distance exists between sliding conveyor 120 and fixed conveyor 118 (e.g., open or closed configuration), and subsequently communicate this information to a controller and/or display for the operator.
In an embodiment, dispenser head 112 includes an optical sensor 142 (e.g., an optical encoder) configured to measure the total length of the strand of air pillows 122 that is conveyed through the dispenser head 112. In a related embodiment, dispenser head 112 uses the width of an individual air pillow and the total length of the air pillow strand to determine the total number of air pillows in an individual strand. Optical sensor 142 may communicate with a controller and/or display. In an embodiment, the operator enters a desired length of a strand of air pillows, such that the dispenser head 112 conveys air pillows until the controller determines that the dispenser head 112 has dispensed the desired length, via the optical sensor 142. Alternatively, the operator enters a desired number of air pillows air pillows, such that the dispenser head 112 conveys air pillows until the controller determines that the dispenser head 112 has dispensed the desired number of air pillows via the optical sensor 142.
In an embodiment, dispenser head 112 includes an encoder assembly 144 directly or indirectly coupled to a drive belt. As previously noted, the input rollers 124, 128 are driven, which drive belts contacting either side of the strand of air pillows 122, such that the strand of air pillows 122 is conveyed through the dispenser head 112 from the input roller side to the output roller side via the drive belts. The encoder assembly 144 is thus configured to measure the rotation of the drive belt, and associate that belt-rotation with an overall output length of a strand of air pillows that is conveyed through the dispenser head 112. Encoder assembly 144 may communicate with a controller and/or display. In an embodiment, the operator enters a desired length of a strand of air pillows, such that the dispenser head 112 conveys air pillows until it determines it has reached the desired length via the encoder assembly 144.
In any of the embodiments described above, it should be appreciated that, at some point, the dispenser head 112 achieves the desired length of a strand of air pillows. When this occurs, the strand of air pillows must be separated or “torn” at the intended perforation location to conclude the particular strand of air pillows. As noted previously, dispenser head 112 may include control features (e.g., for automated separation of the strand of air pillows at a specific perforation).
Specifically,
In an embodiment, the pair of followers 146 trace the contour of the strand of air pillows. For example, the pair of followers may be configured to detect mechanical deflection (e.g., deflection outward as a pillow passes and deflection inward between two pillows), such that the pair of followers 146 identifies specifically when a perforation zone is disposed between the pair of followers.
At the instance where the inflatable packaging system 100 determines that it has dispensed the desired length of the strand of air pillows 122, the dispenser head 112 stops conveyance (e.g., when the perforation zone is disposed between the pair of followers 146), and the dispenser head 112 subsequently “reverses” conveyance over a short distance. Specifically, while the pair of followers 146 are disposed to readily permit the strand of air pillows 122 to pass through the pair of followers 146 outwardly (e.g., during dispensing), the pair of followers 146 are angled such that air pillows are not capable of being “withdrawn” back into the dispenser head 112. Therefore, when the dispenser head 112 reverses conveyance, the strand of air pillows 122 is pulled against the pair of followers 146, and torn at the perforation zone via the pair of followers 146. The strand of air pillows then drops into an empty crate or into the operator's hands.
While separation is described herein with respect to reversing (e.g., reversing the belt drive to tear the inflatable cushioning supply at the perforation zone via the separator assembly 132), it should be appreciated that other types of belt drive control may, likewise, cause separation to occur. For example, in a different example embodiment, over-driving the belt drive (e.g., an increased forward speed) causes perforation to occur. Similarly, in another different example embodiment, separation may be caused by simultaneously over-driving and reversing the belt drive (e.g., increased forward speed on one belt while simultaneous reversing of another belt).
In an embodiment, each of the pair of followers 146 includes a generally triangular surface area, such that a separation zone 148 is formed at the vertex of the generally triangular surface area. The pair of followers 146 are specifically shaped such that there is a large surface area in contact with the air pillow during forward/dispensing motion, and minimal contact with the air pillow during the reverse/separation motion. This specific geometric configuration lowers the overall stress on the air pillow material during a rapid feed and maximizes the stress on a short, centered portion of the perforation during the separation process.
Via the separation process explained above, a generally triangular surface area ensures that the perforation zone tearing of a particular air pillow begins in the middle of a perforation line. This advantageously ensures that the total reverse distance to achieve complete tearing is reduced (e.g., approximately half the width of a strand of air pillows) by tearing the perforation in both directions from the center. Separating from the center of the perforation, rather than the edge, thus reduces the force required and also reduces the distance required to ensure complete separation, allowing for a compact conveyor design and requiring less overhead space.
In an embodiment, each of the generally triangular surface areas includes a beveled or rounded vertex, to ensure tearing while reducing the risk of puncturing an individual air pillow.
In an embodiment, the pair of followers 146 are mechanically controlled between the “open” position (e.g., to permit the strand of air pillows to be dispensed) and the “closed” positon (e.g., to restrict the strand of air pillows from being dispensed). For example, as illustrated by
In an alternative embodiment, illustrated by
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/418,146 filed Oct. 21, 2022, titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AIR PILLOW CONVEYANCE AND SEPARATION, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety and relied upon.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63418146 | Oct 2022 | US |
