US2780148A - Machine for setting up collapsed cardboard cartons - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 5, 1957 R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Filed Nov. 26, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I m 1|| n 33 50 "A! as J: 15 l z! \fli 1y 3: Q t INVENTORJ i @[IZAO//A-PZGYISOn. (a 1 BY 5enn z/ Mremz'czy Atty.

Feb. 5, 1957 v R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP .COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS 4 Shgets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26, 1954 Aria.

INVENTORJ Fez'zzd/afi. Pearson Kenny l/eremz'czy/ 1957 R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Filed NOV. 26, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 M If INVENTORS A ez'n0/cz fl./earson y Emmy Weren'zigy Alta 1957 R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Filed Nov. 26, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lill ar ZJa 5? 1NVENTOR fiz'nfio/d' A Pearson By Benny I h/efemz'czyk mw Atty.

United States Patent MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Reinhold A..Pearson and Benny Weremiczyk, Spokane, Wash.

Application November 26, 1954, Serial No. 471,460

5 Claims. (Cl. 93-53) The present invention relates to improvements in a machine for setting up collapsed cardboard cartons.

In the production and marketing of bottled or canned beverages, it is common practice to package the bottles or cans in groups of six. For this purpose, the currently wellknowu-six bottle cartons have come into wide usage. These cartons are fabricated and supplied to the bottling or canning factories in a collapsed condition so as to conserve on shipping space. Now, while the bottling or canningfactories are equipped with machines to fill the cartons, there is not in common use a simple machine that will expand or set up the collapsed cartons. for filling. This operation is currently carried out by hand .at a considerable expense of time and money.

It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a machine which will automatically expand the previously constructed collapsed'sixbottle cartons.

A' further purpose of the invention is to provide such a machine which will draw the collapsed carton from a stack, expand the carton, lockit in the expanded position in the manner provided for in the carton construction, and eject the expanded carton fromthe machine.

The particular type of carton that our improved setting up machine isadapted tomanipulate, is similar to those shown in the patents to Michael H. Kowal, No. 2,525,686, granted October 10, 1950, and to Edwin L. Arneson, No. 2,537,615, granted January 9, 1951. These cartonsare comprised of two side walls, two end walls, and abottom wall. A center partition extends the length of'the carton and is attached to the two end walls. The center partition also has transverse partitions extending therefrom to the side walls to form six compartments, three on each side of the center partition, into which the bottles or cans may be inserted.

The cartons are supplied to the bottling factory in a collapsed condition. The end walls each have a vertical fold line at the center adjacent the end of the center partition, and the bottom wall has a fold line extending along the center thereof adjacent the bottom of the center partition. When the carton is collapsed, the end and bottom walls fold at the center and bring the, sidewalls together. One end wallv folds in between the side walls and the other folds out from them. The bottom wall also folds out from the side walls.

To hold the carton open, a notch is cut in the bottom of th'ecenter partition nearthe end wall which folds inward. The end of the bottom wall adjacent the notch fits into the notch. The tendency of the carton is to resume its collapsed shape, but it cannot unless the. center partition can move endwise with respect to the sides and bottom as the end walls fold. This action cannot occur while the bottom wall is seated in the notch, and the tendencyto do so keeps the bottom wallin the notch.

Our machine utilizes a pair of stationary suction cups to'hold one side Wall of the carton securely to the opening platform, and a pair of moving suctioncups to grasp the opposite side wall of the collapsed carton and lift it away to expand the carton. Asthe carton opens two cam operated fingers pivoted on the platform swing up. One finger swings up against the. end wall which is folded outwardly from the side walls and pushes that wall toward the side walls. The other finger swings up against the outwardly folded bottom wall and pushes it toward the side walls. The bottom wall engaging finger is positioned so that it engages the bottom wall near the end thereof which fits into the notch in the center partition. As the outwardly folded end wall is pushed toward the side walls, the center partition of the carton is moved eudwise within the carton.

Both of the fingers are activated from the same cam, so they fold the bottom and end wall into their expanded position at the same time. The end wall engaging finger continues to move in against the carton after it reaches the expanded position so that the center partition is moved endwise past its final expanded position. The bottom wall engaging finger, however, is connected to the actuating mechanism through a compression spring so that it may stop when it has pushed the bottom wall slightly past the expanded position, and the additional motion necessary to move the center partition farther is taken up in the compression spring. The bottom wall is pressed inward, then, just enough so that when the end wall is pushed in a sufficient distance to move the notchv formed therein past the end of the bottom wall, it will snap into the notch.

The cam that actuates the fingers then causes them to reverse their direction, and they pivot down into the plane of the opening platform. Due to the compression spring in the linkage to the bottom wall engaging finger, that finger holds the bottom wall end into the notch until the end wall finger has retreated far enough to allow the bottom wall end to be firmly seatedin the notch. it will be appreciated that the natural tendency of the carton to return to its collapsed condition will be suificient to cause the center partition to follow the retreating end wall finger and cause the bottom wall to be securely seated in the notch therein.

The nature and advantages ofrny invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. The description and drawings are illustrative only, however, and are not intended to limit the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine with the feeding and delivery section broken away, and showing a collapsed carton in position to be opened;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the machine shown in Figure 1 except showing the carton expanded and the bottom wall ready to be fitted into the notch in the center partition;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlargedfragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 2; I

Figure 5 is. an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-501. Figure 3; and

Figures/7, 8, 9, and 10 are somewhat diagrammatic sectional views taken on the line of Figure 2 showing the several steps involved in securing the carton in open position.

Referring now to, the drawings and to Figures 1, Q, and 3 in particular, my machine is shown as comprising a supporting framework 12 upon which the several parts are mounted. At one end of the framework 12, a stack of flattened cartons 13, is positioned. A rack 14 secures the stack of cartons 13 in place. The cartons are one at a time fed from the bottom of the stack by a suitable Patented Feb. 5, 1957,

feeding device. This device forms no part of the present invention so it is not shown or described.

The flattened cartons 13 are fed from the rack 13 onto an opening platform 15. Guide members 16 and 17 at the edges of the platform guide the cartons into the correct position for opening. A stop 18 mounted on the guide member 16 engages the flattened carton 13 and stops it when it is correctly positioned on the platform 15.

The carton 13 are formed of two side walls 19 and 20, two end walls 21 and 22, and a bottom wall 23. A center partition 24 extends through the carton 13 between the side walls 19 and 20 and is connected to the end walls 21 and 22 at their centers. The center partition 24 has cut outs therein to form several transverse partitions 25 which extend to the side walls 19 and 20 to divide the carton 13 into six compartments. The end walls 21 and 22 have vertical fold lines therein at their centers adjacent the ends of the center partition 24, and the bottom wall 23 has a fold line at its center which extends parallel to the sides 19 and 20. The carton 13 is so constructed that the side walls 19 and 20 and theend walls 21 and 22 are permanently joined. The bottom wall 23 is joined to the side walls 19 and 20 but not to the end walls 21 and 22. When the carton 13 .is in the collapsed condition, the end walls 21 and 22 are folded so that the side walls 19 and 2%) are brought together. The end wall 21 folds outwardly so that the sections thereof on either side of the fol-d extend outwardly from the sides 19 and 20 and the end Wall 22 folds inwardly so that the sections on either side of its fold are positioned between the side walls 19 and 20. The center partition 24 is positioned between the side walls 19 and 20 but is displaced endwise therefrom since its ends are attached to the center folds of the walls 21 and 22. The bottom wall 23 is folded so that the portion thereof on either side of the fold extend outwardly from the side walls 19 and 20. Figure 1 shows the carton in this condition.

In order to keep the carton 13 in expanded condition, a notch 24a is formed in the lower edge of the center partition 24 near the end thereof attached to the inwardly folding end wall 22. A cooperating notch 23a is formed in the edge of the bottom wall 23 adjacent the end wall 22. When the carton 13 is expanded, the notch 23a of the bottom wall 23 is fitted into the notch 24a of the center partition and holds the carton 13 in the expanded position.

After the carton 13 has been delivered onto the opening platform 15, stationary suction cups 26 set into the platform 15 grasp the side wall 20 which is on the underside of the flattened carton 13. The suction cups 26 are connected by a hose 27 to a vacuum supply line 28. The vacuum supply line 28 is attached to a vacuum pump (not shown) on the frame 12.

A vertical actuating arm 29 is positioned on the frame 12 adjacent the opening platform 15. The arm is slidably supported by an upper guide member 30 and a lower guide member 31. The guide member 30 is supported by an angle iron 32 attached to the rack 14 and the lower guide 31 is supported by the horizontal guide member 17 which is positioned at the side of platform 15. A bar 33 extends up from the guide 31 to the guide 30 and serves to further support the actuating arm 29 for vertical movement with respect to the frame 12. The actuating arm 29 carries thereon a horizontally extending mounting plate 34, which extends over the opening platform 15. A set of suction cup are mounted face down on the underside of the plate 34 directly above the cups 26 on the platform 15. The suction cups 35 are connected by a hose 36 to the vacuum supply line 28 so that they may lift the wall 20 of the carton.

At the lower end of the actuating arm 29, a cam follower 37 is positioned. The cam follower rests on the surface of a carton expanding cam 38 which is fixed to a main operating shaft 39 rotatably supported on the frame 12 below the opening platform 15. The shaft 39 is driven at a suitable speed by a motor (not shown). The cam 33 is so shaped that as soon as a flattened carton 13 is fed from the rack 14 to the platform 15, the cam 38 causes the actuating arm to move downward, carrying the suction cup 35 down against the side Wall 19 of the flattened box 13. The suction cups 35 then grasp the side wall 19, and the stationary suction cups 26 on the platform 15 grasp the opposite side wall 20 of the carton 13. The cam 38 then causes the actuating arm 29 to rise, and causes the suction cups 35 to pull the side 19 of the carton upwardly away from the side wall 20. This action causes the carton to expand into its open position.

A finger mounting plate 40 is fixed on the frame 12 under the flattened carton 13 and forms a portion of the latform 15. The plate 40 is so positioned that when the flattened carton 13 is resting on the platform 15, the plate 4% is under the fold line separating the side wall 20 from the bottom wall 23. The plate 40 has a transverse notch 41 therein near the end thereof closest to the feed rack 14. A bottom wall engaging finger 42 is positioned in the notch 41 and pivotally secured therein by a bolt 43. The finger 42 is positioned with respect to the carton 13 on the platform so that when pivoted on the bolt 43, it will swing up and engage the bottom wall of the carton near the end thereof where the notch 23a is formed and assist in folding it into its expanded position. A second notch 44 is formed in the plate 40 at the end thereof remote from the feed rack 14. An end wall engaging finger 45 is positioned in the notch 44 and pivotally secured by a bolt 46. The notch 44 is formed in the plate 40 at right angles to the notch 41 and so positioned with respect to the carton 13 that when the finger 45 i pivoted about the bolt 46, it will engage the outwardly folding end wall 21 of the carton, and force it toward its final expanded position.

The fingers 42 and 45 are normally pivoted down so that they lie in the plane of the plate 40 in order that they will not obstruct the flattened carton 13 when it is delivered onto the platform 15. When the suction cups 26 and 35 have grasped the sides 19 and 20 of the carton and the suction cups 35 have started to move upwardly, the fingers 42 and 45 are caused to pivot about the bolts 43 and 46 and swing up against the outwardly folded bottom and end walls 23 and 21 respectively. Figure 7 shows the fingers in this position. When the suction cups 35 have opened the carton 13 to its final expanded position, they cease to move. At thi time, the fingers 42 and 45 have folded the bottom and end walls 23 and 21 until the sections thereof on either side of the folds lie in the same plane. However, at this point the notches 23a and 24a are not engaged. It is necessary that the center partition 24 be moved endwise beyond its expanded position so that the notch 23:! in the edge of the bottom wall 23 may slip past the tip of the notch 24a in the center partition. To accomplish this, the fingers 42 and 45 continue to pivot and force the bottom and end Walls 23 and 21 inwardly, moving the center partition 24 endwise beyond its expanded position, and bowing the bottom wall 23 inwardly. When the finger 42 has bowed the bottom wall 23 inwardly a short distance, as shown in Figure 8, it stops its motion and holds the wall 23 in this position. The finger 45, however, continues to force the end wall 21 into the carton 13 and thereby continues to move the center partition endwise until the .tip of the notch 24a has moved past the notch 23a in the bottom wall. When this occurs, the end of the bottom wall snaps inward as shown in Figure 9 due to the force exerted by the finger 42.

When the end of the bottom wall has snapped past the lip of the notch 24a, the notches 23a and 24a are aligned so that they may be interlocked. The finger 45, then reverses its direction and pivots downwardly, allowing the natural .tendency of the carton to return to its collapsed condition to cause the center partition to move back to its final expanded position. The finger42, however, remains stationary and holds the end of the bottom wall into the mouth of the notch 24d until the finger 45' and the center partition 24 have retreated far enough so that the notch 23.4 has seated wellintothe notch 24a, and the bottom wall cannot snap back" past the tip of the notch 24a. When the notches 23a and 240 are interlocked, both the fingers Hand 45' pivot down to their normal position in the plane of the mounting plate as shown in Figure l0. I

In order to successfully expand'the carton 13 and interlock the notches 23a and 24a, it is necessary that the fingers 42 and pivotupland foldthe bottom and end walls 23 and 21 inwardly at the same rate. It is also necessary that the finger 42 stop and remain stationary after it has bowed the bottom wall 23 slightly, while the finger the endwall 21 further inward and moves the center partition 24' until the bottom wall 23 snaps into the opening of the notch 24a, and then retreats and engages the notches 23a and 24a. 4

To impart this motion to the fingers"42 and 45, a cam and link apparatus is provided on the machine and connected to each finger '42 and 45. The fingers 42 and 45 have lever portions 42a and 45a'formed thereon by which fingers 42 and 45 are caused to pivot. The portion 42a of thefinger 42 has a yoke 47 pivoted thereto. The yoke 47 has a vertical aperture 48 inits base portion which receives a rod 49. The rod 49 has ahead 50 thereon which seats between the-legs 47a and 47b of the yoke and prevents the rod from passing through the aperture 48. The rod 49 extendsdownwardly as shown in Figures 3 and 4 and has a threaded'portion thereon at its lower end. A lower yoke 51 "with a threaded aperture 52 at its base threads onto the lower end of the rod 49 and is secured by a lock nut53. Aspring 54 is positioned around the rod 49between the upper and lower yokes 47 and 51. Thesp ring is compressed between the upper yoke 47 and a washer 55 on the rod 49. The washer 55 is supported by a pair of lock nuts 56 on the rod 49 and may be moved by the nuts 56 up or down to compress the spring 54'the' desired amount. The spring 54 bearing against the yoke 47 maintains it at the upper end of the rod 49 against the head 50. A collar 57 "is positioned around the upper y'oke 47 and clamped thereto by a bolt 58L The collar 57 limits the angular displacement of the lever portion 42a of the finger 42 within the yoke v a stop limiting the pivotal action ofthe finger 42 when it has swung up as far as desired. The collar 57 can be adjusted by loosening the bolt 58. g V

The-lever portion 45a of the finger 45 also has a yoke 59 pivoted thereto. This yoke 59 is mounted at the upper end of a rod 66 of essentially the same dimensions as the rod 49. The rod 60 carries at its lower end a yoke 61 similar to the yoke 51 at the lower end 'of the rod 49. are each pivotally attached to the opposite ends of an L-shaped horizontal'arm 62, best shown in Figures 2 and 5. The arm 62 is fixedly secured intermediate its ends toa slide 63' whichis mounted'for vertical movement on a guide bar 64 secured to the frame 12. An actuating arm 65 is fixed to the slide 63 and the horizontal arm 62 andextends downwardly toward the main operating shaft 39. A cam follower 66 mounted. to the actuating arm 65 rides on the surface of a finger actuating cam 67 fixed to the shaft 39. A spring 68 attached between the slide 63 and the frame 12 keeps the follower 66 solidly on the surface of the cam 67.

begin to expand the carton 13, it causes the actuating arm 66 to move the slide 63 upward on the guide bar 64. This moves the horizontal arm 62, and consequently the rods 49 and 60, upward and causes the fingers 42 and 45 to be pivoted upward as hereinbefore described. The col- The yoke 51 on the rod 49 and the yoke 61 onthe rod 60' The cam 67 is so shaped that as the suction cops 35 presses'the lar 57 iisadjiisted"on" theyoke 47 so that it willcause" thefin'g'eri42to stop when the bottom wall 23 of'the' carto'n 13"is slightly bowed into the box. The arm 62 and rods 49 and 60; however,

continue to move up so as tooausethe finger '45 tocontinue the pivotal motion necessary to bring thenotches 23a and 2411 into alignment: This additional movement of the rod 49 after the finger 42 has stoppedpcauses the rod 49 to slide farther through the aperture 48' in the yoke'47, and merely comspring 54, without imparting additional motion to the finger 42. When the finger 45 has reached the'end of its travel, the cam 67 allows the slide 63 and the'horizontal arm 62 to move downward, pivoting thefinger 43 back from the carton. As the rod 49 is carried downward by thearm 62, thespring 54 expands, keeping the finger 42 in place until the notches 23a and 24a have" been interlocked. When the rod 49"has moved down enough to bring the head 50 into contact with the base of the yoke 47 again, the finger 42 begins to pivot away.

from the carton 13 with the finger 45.

As soonas the fingers 42 and 45 have reached their normal position in the plane of the plate 40, a cam operated release valve in the vacuum line 28 (not shown) operates to temporarily'break the suction of the cups 26 and35. The'feed mechanism then slides a fresh flattened cartononto thepl'atform'ls, and in so doing, pushes the expanded carton-"13 out. 7

It may be'see'n from the foregoing description, that our improved carton expanding or setting up machine operates easily'and eflicientlyto set up and lock the collapsed cartons 13. The operation is very simple and requires few moving parts. Any' suitable feed mechanism may feed the collapsed carton to the opening platform 15 where it is gripped and held by the stationarysuction cups 26. The carton expanding cam 38 causes the suctioncups 35 to grasp'the upperside'wall 19 of the carton 13 and lifts itiaway, thus expanding the carton. fingeractuatin'g cam 66"operates to pivot the fingers 42 and 45 upso that they may'fold the end and bottom walls '21'and '23 into place, and interlock thenotches23a and 24a. The compression spring 54 in the'linkage betweenthe cam 66 and the bottom wall engaging finger 42 allows that finger 42 to stop and remain stationary'while the remainder of the linkage operates to move the finger 45 farther to align the notches 23a and 24a so that they will interlock. After the carton is expanded and locked, the fingers 42 and 45 pivot down to a horizontal position to allow a new carton 13 to be delivered to the platform and the expanded carton 13 to be ejected.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of our invention appear clearly from the foregoing description.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a machine for setting up partitioned cartons of the type wherein an'outwardly folding bottom wall of the carton is notched to interlock with a notch in the bottom edge of a partition wall of the carton and an outwardly folding end wall of the carton is connected to the partition wall and'operable by movement into the carton outline to bring the notches into position to interlock, a carton supportingframework adapted to suppor a carton, abottom wall engaging finger, an end wall en gaging fingerrsaidfingers being pivotally mounted on sair framewor for movement upward and toward'the bot tom" and an end-ofa'carton supported in open positio thereon, power means connected to both fingers for at vancing them upwardly and toward said bottom and en respectively, and stop means limiting the movement r the bottom Wall engaging finger into the carton bottor the connection between said power means and the botto wall engaging finger being yieldable whereby to hold sa bottom wall engaging finger against the stop means d1 ing part of the advancing movement of the other fing 2. In a machine for setting up partitioned cartons the type wherein an outwardly folding bottom wall The outwardly folded the carton is notched to interlock with a notch in the bottom edge of a named power means being yieldable said bottom wall engaging finger against the stop means during part of the advancing movement of the other finger.

it down until the downwardly facing suction cups engage and grip the side N 0 references cited.

Images