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US 3,937,342 AGranted
Apparatus for opening and unloading cartons
AssigneeI & H Conveying and Machine Company
InventorsDelbert J. Ittner, Robert W. Hofstetter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for automatically opening and emptying a carton for reuse by folding the outer flaps of the carton away from the opening into the carton as the carton moves linearly in a first direction, folding the inner flaps of the carton away from the opening in the carton as the carton moves linearly in a second direction and separating the carton from the contents while the contents continue to move in a second direction. Upon separation, the carton is automatically transported to a remote location for reuse.
Claims11
An apparatus for opening the flaps of a carton filled with articles and for unloading the articles from the cartons comprising:
- first conveyor means for moving the cartons in a first direction;
- carton outer flap folding means associated with said first conveyor means for folding the outer flaps of the carton from a closed position over the opening to the carton to a folded position away from their closed position as the cartons move in said first direction;
- second conveyor means for moving the cartons in a second direction disposed at a predetermined angle to said first conveyor means;
- carton inner flap engaging and folding means associated with said second conveyor means for folding the inner flaps of the carton from a closed position over the opening to the carton to a folded position as the cartons move in said second direction;
- transfer means disposed between said first conveyor means and said second conveyor means for transferring said cartons from said first conveyor means to said second conveyor means;
- and
- third conveyor means disposed adjacent the end of said second conveyor means and extending upwardly away therefrom whereby to remove the cartons from said second conveyor, the articles remaining on said second conveyor means;
- and
- said second conveyor means comprises a pair of spaced apart second drive means disposed on opposite sides of said carton inner flap engaging and folding means to move the cartons in said second direction;
- said inner flap engaging and folding means comprising a pair of parallel spaced apart downwardly and inwardly inclined support plates which permit the inner flaps to partially open a predetermined amount by folding downwardly under the influence of the weight of the articles in the carton;
- an elongated horizontal plate having its leading corners inclined downwardly and outwardly to engage the inner flaps as the carton moves from said support plates onto said horizontal plate and to support the articles in the carton as the carton moves in said second direction;
- and a generally V-shaped inner flap folding plate disposed beneath said horizontal plate having its apex facing against said second direction of movement and having its sloping edges extending toward opposite longitudinal sides of said horizontal plate.
9 more elements
An apparatus for opening the flaps of a carton filled with articles and for unloading the articles from the cartons comprising:
- first conveyor means for moving the cartons in a first direction;
- carton outer flap folding means associated with said first conveyor means for folding the outer flaps of the carton from a closed position over the opening to the carton to a folded position away from their closed position as the cartons move in said first direction;
- second conveyor means for moving the cartons in a second direction disposed at a predetermined angle to said first conveyor means;
- carton inner flap engaging and folding means associated with said second conveyor means for folding the inner flaps of the carton from a closed position over the opening to the carton to a folded position as the cartons move in said second direction;
- transfer means disposed between said first conveyor means and said second conveyor means for transferring said cartons from said first conveyor means to said second conveyor means;
- and
- third conveyor means disposed adjacent the end of said second conveyor means and extending upwardly away therefrom whereby to remove the cartons from said second conveyor means, the articles remaining on said second conveyor means;
- and said first conveyor means comprising a pair of parallel spaced apart elongated tracks longitudinally disposed in said first direction of travel to support the cartons as they move in said first direction;
- a pair of spaced apart first drive means disposed on opposite sides of said pair of tracks for engaging the opposite longitudinal sides of the cartons and moving them in said first direction;
- said carton outer flap engaging means comprises a generally pointed end on each of said elongated tracks facing against said first direction of movement of said carton to be received between the carton outer flaps and the carton;
- a guide blade disposed between said pointed ends of said elongated tracks in a generally vertical plane parallel to said elongated tracks to engage the inner flaps of the carton to prevent them from folding partially open due to the weight of the articles in the carton;
- and a pair of spaced apart outer flap folding bars, said bars being disposed on opposite sides of said pair of elongated tracks to engage said outer flaps and fold them as the carton moves in said first direction.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.