Back to results
US 5,778,640 AGranted
Apparatus and method for packing stand-up pouches into cartons
AssigneeBlueprint Automation, Inc.
InventorsNicholaas Martin Prakken, John James Hendry
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method are disclosed where stand-up pouches are partially flattened and arranged in an overlapping row where they are picked-up by a thin cantilevered vacuum pick-up head and placed into the open side of a tilted carton with the sequence being repeated until the carton is filled.
Claims12
Apparatus for placing flexible pouches in a carton comprising:
- a pick-up station for holding a row of flexible pouches;
- a carton loading station for presenting a carton with an open side;
- a thin vacuum pick-up head for picking up a row of flexible pouches at said pick-up station and inserting them into the open side of a carton as a plurality of stacked rows at said carton loading station;
- and
- a transfer mechanism for moving said head between said pick-up station and said carton loading station.
2 more elements
A method for placing flexible pouches in a carton comprising the following:
- A. providing a pick-up station for holding a row of flexible pouches;
- B. providing a carton having an open side;
- C. providing a thin pick-up head;
- D. providing a transfer mechanism for moving said thin pick-up head;
- E. providing a quantity of flexible pouches containing a product which pouches have relatively flat sides, a base end, an intermediate section and a top end with the difference in thickness between said base end and said intermediate section being a substantial amount of the thickness of said thin vacuum pick-up head;
- F. assembling a row of flexible pouches laying on their side on said pick-up station with said base ends of said pouches pointing in the same direction;
- G. Picking up said row of flexible pouches with said thin pick-up head by placing said head over said intermediate section but not said base end of said flexible pouches;
- H. Moving said row of picked up flexible pouches into said carton through said open side by said transfer mechanism;
- I. releasing said row of said flexible pouches from said pick-up head into said carton and moving said pick-up head to its starting position;
- and
- J. repeating F to I by stacking additional rows of pouches in said carton until said carton is full.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.