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US 8,418,834 B2Granted
Prefeeding corrugated boards to box finishing machines
AssigneeSun Automation, Inc.
InventorLouis M. Sardella
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSun Automation, Inc.
InventorLouis M. Sardella
Estimating the term…
Method and apparatus for prefeeding corrugated boards to a box finishing machine wherein a stack of rectangular boards are moved to a first conveyor with the long dimension of the boards extending transverse to the direction of movement of said first conveyor. The stack is then rotated to place the long dimension of the boards in alignment with the direction of movement of said first conveyor, and then moving the rotated stack to a second conveyor for feeding to a box finishing machine with the long dimension of the boards in alignment with the direction or path of movement of the boards through the box finishing machine. The stack is transferred to the first conveyor from an elevator which contains a supply of boards larger than the stack. Three different types of apparatus are disclosed for rotating the stack. One is a plurality of conveyor belts whose speeds may be varied to rotate the boards. Another is a turntable with a set of belt conveyors and a set of rollers. The third is a vertical chute whose guides rotate the boards as they descend through the chute.
A method of conveying a stack of corrugated boards to a box finishing machine including a printer having a print path whose length is less than the length of said boards and extends transverse to a path of conveyance of the boards along said machine, the method comprising the steps of placing a stack of the boards on an elevator, moving the elevator to position the stack in line with a first conveyor means, transferring said stack to said first conveyor means, rotating said stack about a vertical axis into a predetermined position for transfer to a second conveyor means and transferring the rotated stack to said second conveyor means for feeding the stack to a box finishing machine with the length of the boards extending in the direction of the path of conveyance of the box finishing machine.
A method of conveying a stack of corrugated boards to a box finishing machine including a printer having a print path whose length is less than the length of said boards and extends transverse to a path of conveyance of the boards along said machine, the method comprising the steps of placing a stack of boards on a first conveyor, rotating said stack on said first conveyor about a vertical axis into a predetermined position for transfer to a second conveyor for feeding the stack to a box finishing machine with the length of the boards extending in the direction of the path of conveyance of the box finishing machine.
In combination with a box finishing machine including a printer having a print path whose length is less than the length of said boards and extends transverse to a path of conveyance of the boards along said machine, a system for feeding corrugated boards to the box finishing machine comprising a supply area for receiving a stack of corrugated boards, a first conveying means for receiving a stack of corrugated boards from said supply area, a second conveying means for receiving corrugated boards from said first conveying means and conveying them towards said box finishing machine, and wherein said first conveying means includes means for rotating said corrugated boards about a vertical axis and in a horizontal plane with the length of the boards extending in the direction of the path of conveyance of the box finishing machine.
A method of conveying a stack of corrugated boards to a box finishing machine comprising the steps of placing a stack of the boards on an elevator, moving the elevator to position the stack in line with a first conveyor means, transferring said stack to said first conveyor means, rotating said stack into a predetermined position for transfer to a second conveyor means and transferring the rotated stack to said second conveyor means for feeding the stack to a box finishing machine and wherein said stack is rotated as it descends through a vertical chute overlying said second conveyor means.
A method of conveying stacks of corrugated boards to a box finishing machine comprising the steps of placing a stack of boards in line with a first conveyor, transferring said stack to said first conveyor, rotating said stack so that said first conveyor will convey said stack in predetermined position for transfer to a second conveyor for feeding the stack to a box finishing machine and wherein said stack is rotated as it descends a vertical chute overlying said second conveyor.
In combination with a box finishing machine, a system for feeding corrugated boards to the box finishing machine comprising a supply area for receiving a stack of corrugated boards, a first conveying means for receiving a stack of corrugated boards from said supply area, a second conveying means for receiving corrugated boards from said first conveying means and conveying them towards said box finishing machine, and wherein said first conveying means includes means for rotating said corrugated boards in a horizontal plane, and said means for rotating said boards includes a vertically extending chute for rotating the boards about a vertical axis as they move downwardly through the chute.
In combination with a box finishing machine, a system for feeding corrugated boards to the box finishing machine comprising a first conveying means for receiving a stack of corrugated boards, a second conveying means for receiving corrugated boards from said first conveying means and conveying them towards said box finishing machine, and wherein said first conveying means includes means for rotating said corrugated boards in a horizontal plane, and said means for rotating said boards includes a vertically extending chute for rotating the boards about a vertical axis as they move downwardly through the chute.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.