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US 12,151,449 B2Granted
Case-handling system with independently movable flap-suppressing devices
AssigneeSignode Industrial Group LLC
InventorsBryce J. Fox, Robert Thane Rickard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various embodiments provide a case-handling system including multiple flap-suppressing devices that can be vertically moved independently of one another to, when processing a case, enable the case-handling system to prepare for and receive the next case to-be-processed while the case-handling system is still folding the upper major flaps of the current case, which increases throughput.
Claims16
A case-handling system comprising:
- a conveyor;
- a minor-flap closer configured to close upper minor flaps of a case;
- a flap-suppressing-and-closing system downstream of the minor-flap closer and configured to maintain the upper minor flaps of the case closed and to close upper major flaps of the case, the flap-suppressing-and-closing system comprising:
- a first flap-suppressing device downstream of the minor-flap closer and vertically movable relative to the conveyor;
- and
- a second flap-suppressing device disposed between the minor-flap closer and the first flap-suppressing device and vertically movable relative to the conveyor, wherein the first and second flap-suppressing devices are vertically movable independently of one another;
- a case sealer downstream of the flap-suppressing-and-closing system and configured to seal the upper major flaps closed;
- and
- a controller operably connected to the conveyor to drive the conveyor and operably connected to the first and second flap-suppressing devices to independently vertically move the first and second flap-suppressing devices,
- wherein the controller is configured to, while the first flap-suppressing device is at a first flap-suppressing position and engaging closed upper minor flaps of a first case, cause the second flap-suppressing device to vertically move to a second flap-suppressing position different from the first flap-suppressing position in preparation for processing a second case.
7 more elements
A case-handling system comprising:
- a conveyor;
- a first flap-suppressing device vertically movable relative to the conveyor and comprising first and second upper-major-flap closers;
- a second flap-suppressing device vertically movable relative to the conveyor and comprising third and fourth upper-major-flap closers, wherein the first and second flap-suppressing devices are vertically movable independently of one another;
- and
- a controller operably connected to the conveyor to drive the conveyor and operably connected to the first and second flap-suppressing devices to independently vertically move the first and second flap-suppressing devices,
- wherein the controller is configured to, while the first flap-suppressing device is at a first flap-suppressing position and engaging closed upper minor flaps of a first case, cause the second flap-suppressing device to vertically move to a second flap-suppressing position different from the first flap-suppressing position in preparation for processing a second case,
- wherein the controller is operably connected to the first and second upper-major-flap closers of the first flap-suppressing device and to the third and fourth upper-major-flap closers of the second flap-suppressing device.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.