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US 5,027,586 AGranted
Side loading machine
AssigneeNigrelli Systems, Inc.
InventorDennis Ramaker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A side loading machine is capable of very rapid loading of complements of articles into open side cartons. Carton blanks are unfolded at an unfolding station and advanced to a loading station along a carton path. At the loading station, pusher bars are indexed in closed paths located perpendicular to and on both sides of the carton path. The pusher bars are indexed to push the complements from article waiting stations into the carton. New articles are fed to the article waiting stations between consecutive pusher bars. A split platform cooperates with a pusher bar to guide the articles into each article waiting station. Oscillating fingers and paddles positively control the locations of the carton flaps prior and subsequent to loading the complements into the cartons.
Claims42
A side loading machine for loading complements of articles into an open side carton comprising:
- a. means for supplying carton blanks having respective leading and trailing edges and oppositely extending leading and trailing flaps and for partially unfolding the blanks;
- b. carton advancement means for completely unfolding and intermittently advancing the unfolded cartons horizontally along a carton path in a downstream direction;
- c. flap tucker means for positively controlling the leading and trailing flaps of the unfolded open side carton;
- d. conveyor means for feeding the articles along article paths in the downstream direction parallel to and on opposite sides of the carton path;
- e. side loading means downstream from the flap tucker means for indexing unidirectionally along closed paths in timed relation with the carton advancement means and the conveyor means to push complements of articles from the article paths into the open side carton from the opposite sides thereof to thereby fill the cartons;
- and
- f. flap closing means downstream from the side loading means for positively closing the leading and trailing flaps of the filled cartons.
4 more elements
Apparatus for side loading open side cartons having end flaps comprising:
- a. a horizontal longitudinally extending frame;
- b. means mounted to the frame for supplying folded carton blanks and for partially unfolding the blanks at an unfolding station;
- c. carton advancement means for receiving the partially unfolded blanks and for completely unfolding the blanks into open side cartons and for operating intermittently to advance the cartons in a downstream direction from the unfolding station along a horizontal carton path to a loading station;
- d. flap tucker means downstream from the unfolding station for positively controlling the carton leading and trailing flaps;
- e. conveyor means for feeding articles along article paths on both sides of the carton path to article waiting stations;
- f. side loading means supported by the frame at the loading station for unidirectionally indexing in closed paths in timed relation with the carton advancement means to push articles from the article waiting stations into the open side carton;
- and
- g. flap closing means downstream from the loading station for positively controlling the leading and trailing flaps of the filled cartons.
5 more elements
Apparatus for unfolding folded carton blanks comprising:
- a. hopper means for storing a quantity of folded blanks;
- b. flight bar means located generally under the hopper means for intermittently advancing in a downstream direction therefrom and for defining a plurality of pockets;
- c. pulling means for pulling a selected blank from the hopper means into a selected pocket;
- and
- d. cam means partially in the path of the selected blank for cooperating with the pulling means to partially unfold the selected blank as it is pulled into the selected pocket,
- wherein the cam means comprises notch means for engaging a portion of the partially unfolded blank pulled into the selected pocket and for cooperating with the flight bar means to capture the partially unfolded blank in the selected pocket.
3 more elements
A method of forming an open side tray having bottom, leading, and trailing panels comprising the steps of:
- a. storing a supply of planar tray blanks;
- b. providing a plurality of flight bars advanceable in a downstream direction generally under the supply of blanks, the flight bars being spaced apart to define pockets bounded by respective upstream and downstream flight bars;
- c. pulling the bottom panel of a selected blank generally downwardly toward a selected pocket;
- d. retarding the blank trailing panel during continued pulling of the blank bottom panel toward the selected pocket by providing at least one cam in the path of the blank trailing panel as it is pulled from the supply of blanks to the selected pocket;
- and
- striking the cam with the blank trailing panel as the blank bottom panel is pulled to the selected pocket;
- f. pulling the blank bottom panel completely into the selected pocket;
- and
- g. advancing the flight bar to fully open the open side tray.
6 more elements
A method of loading articles into open side cartons having leading and trailing flaps comprising the steps of:
- a. storing a supply of carton blanks;
- b. unfolding a carton blank into an open side carton;
- c. advancing the open side carton in a downstream direction along a carton path to a loading station;
- d. feeding articles to be loaded in respective article paths on both sides of the carton path to article waiting stations;
- e. providing a plurality of pusher bars that index in closed paths on both sides of the carton path and in a plane perpendicular thereto;
- f. indexing the pusher bars to push respective complements of articles from the article waiting stations into the open side carton;
- and
- g. advancing the filled carton downstream from the loading station.
5 more elements
A method of unfolding a carton blank into an open side carton comprising the steps of:
- a. storing a supply of blanks having respective leading and trailing edges and bottom and trailing panels;
- b. providing a plurality of flight bars advanceable in a downstream direction generally under the supply of blanks, the flight bars being spaced apart to define pockets bounded by respective upstream and downstream flight bars;
- c. pulling the bottom panel of a selected blank generally downward toward a selected pocket;
- d. retarding the blank trailing panel during continued pulling of the blank bottom panel to thereby partially unfold the blank by locating at least one cam into the path of the blank trailing panel as it is pulled from the supply of blanks to the selected pocket;
- and
- striking the cam with the blank trailing panel as the blank bottom panel is pulled to the selected pocket;
- e. capturing the partially unfolded blank in the selected pocket;
- and
- f. advancing the flight bars in the downstream direction to fully unfold the carton.
6 more elements
Apparatus for forming open side trays from a blank comprising:
- a. hopper means for storing a quantity of blanks having respective bottom, leading, and trailing panels;
- b. a plurality of flight bars located generally under the hopper means and intermittently advancing therefrom in a downstream direction, the flight bars defining consecutively spaced pockets, each pocket being bounded by an upstream and a downstream flight bar;
- c. pulling means for pulling the bottom panel of a selected blank from the hopper means to a selected pocket, the downstream flight bar of the selected pocket being in the path of the blank leading panel, the downstream flight bar of the selected pocket cooperating with the pulling means to bend the blank leading panel relative to the blank bottom panel;
- and
- d. cam means in the path of the blank trailing panel for cooperating with the pulling means to bend the blank trailing panel relative to the blank bottom panel,
- wherein the cam means comprises notch means for engaging a portion of the trailing edge panel pulled into the selected pocket and for cooperating with the flight bar to capture the partially unfolded blank in the selected pocket,
- so that the blank is formed into a tray as the blank is pulled from the hopper means into the selected pocket.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.