US3302538A - Carton lining machines - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 7, 1967 w. HEPWORTH CARTON LINING MACHINES Filed March 13, 1964 \Nv NTQQ United States Patent O 3,302,538 CARTON LINING MACHINES Willie Hepworth, Sutton, Surrey, England, assignor to Pembroke Carton and Printing Company Limited, Basiidon, Essex, England, a British company Filed Mar. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 351,648 3 Claims. (Cl. 9336.01)

The present invention comprises a carton lining machine capable of operation at high speeds to produce from fiat carton blanks folded cartons, open at each end, having secured therein a length of pre-formed tubular lining also open at each end and preferably protruding from the ends of the carton. High speed operation is essential for economic production and high speed machines of the present type are arranged to carry a carton blank on bands or belts through the machine during folding and lining operations. Slight alterations in spacing or alignment of the cartons in relation to the carrying bands or belts render the application of lining elements unsatisfactory, and in prior United States Patent No. 2,758,520 there is described the production of a lined carton having a preformed tubular lining in which a continuous tubular lining is applied to the carton blanks and the latter folded round the continuous tubular lining which was afterwards severed between the folded and lined cartons. For the cutting operation an intermittent or discontinuous operation of the cutter was necessary and some wastage of lining material also took place. The present invention provides a machine of which all working parts are arranged to perform a steady continuous movement and where necessary are positively operated in timed relationship with one another, and in the operation of which machine wastage is avoided.

According to the present invention a carton lining machine comprises in combination means for continuously and positively advancing carton blanks through the machine in regularly spaced relationship, a printing roller for applying adhesive to the carton blanks, means for producing a continuous preformed tubular lining for the cartons, means for continuously feeding the preformed tubular lining to a rotary cutter for severing appropriate lengths of the tubular lining, and means for transferring the cut lengths of lining from the cutter to the carton blanks at a position subsequent to the printing of the latter with adhesive, whereof said feeding means is continuously and positively driven at an independently variable speed and the printing roller, rotary cutter and the transfer means for the cut lengths of lining are all continuously and positively driven in a fixed speed relationship with the means for advancing the carton blanks.

By adjusting the speed of the feeding means it may be ensured that a required cut length of lining for each blank is applied to the blank during its passage through the machine.

Conveniently the machine comprises also carton prefolding and final folding sections which are respectively disposed in advance of and on the delivery side of the lining and gluing mechanisms and which have endless bands or belts, for engaging and carrying the carton blanks and lined carton blanks respectively through the said sections, separate from the means for advancing the carton blanks in regularly spaced relationship. In such case the machine may have an initial feeding device for carton blanks, a carrying chain having spaced stops to engage the rearward edges of the carton blanks supplied by the feeding device, and a second similar carton blank carrying chain for moving cartons through the gluing and lining mechanism whereof the carrying chains are driven in synchronism and are separated by the pre-folding section of which the operating endless bands or belts are "ice driven at a linear speed somewhat in excess of that of the chains and are arranged to receive carton blanks from the first carrying chain and deliver them to the second carrying chain.

Preferably the present machine has a continuous carton lining tube forming mechanism disposed above the carton blank advancing means and printing roller for feeding the continuous lining tube to the rotary cutter which is also disposed above the carton advancing means. Preferably also the machine provided by the present invention comprises a pair of superposed positively driven rollers driven in timed relationship with the drive of the carton advancing means, the upper roller comprising a lining cutter and the lower roller serving to transfer the cut lining tube and apply it to a carton blank carried by the carton advancing means.

In the latter case the machine conveniently has belts to grip the lining between the superposed rollers and said belts, the latter being arranged forwardly of the cutting roller and rearwardly of the transfer roller and engaging arcuate paths around the superposed rollers to ensure that a cut lining length is always gripped until applied to the carton blank.

By way of example a carton lining machine constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which are a diagrammatic representation of the machine in side elevation.

Referring to the drawings, the unlined carton blanks 9 are initially fed to a channel or tray 10 as a sloping stack from which they are advanced at regularly spaced intervals by a carrying chain 11 having spaced stops 12 to engage the rearward edges of the carton blanks and driven between end sprockets 13 and 14. For a fast feed of carton blanks the feed tray 19 for carrying a stack of carton blanks 9 is suitably angled for a rotary wheel 15 with a periphery having one or more groups of rubber studs 16 which may be hollowed or indented at the centre) to be able to collect the top carton by co-operation between the studs and a rubber counter-rotatable roller 17 between which and the normal periphery of the wheel 15 the top carton can protrude without being engaged for feeding. The feed wheel 15 is driven in synchronism with the chain 11 to deposit carton blanks regularly between the stops 12 which engage the rearward edges of the cartons to advance them in regularly spaced sequence. The chain 11 is conveniently duplicated laterally of the machine so that chains so disposed side by side can serve to support the carton blank.

From the carrying chain 11 the carton blanks carried in regularly spaced relationship are delivered to a prefolding section of the machine during passage through which the carton blank is folded about various fold lines and then unfolded to be delivered again as a fiat open carton blank. The carton blanks are gripped between driving and conveying belts 18 and 19 which carry the blank past suitable cam guides and formers to carry out the desirable folding. The guides may be stationary or may be afforded by a plurality of closely spaced suitably positioned spring pressed rollers with suitably bevelled contacting surfaces for engaging the cartons or endless belts in contact with the cartons. The belts l3 and 19 are operated slightly faster than the chain 11 and deliver the carton blanks, which have been folded and then unfolded, to a second set of carrying chains 20 with stops 21 spaced as on chain 11 and operated at the same speed, preferably from a common drive.

Although the belts 18, 19 move faster than the chains 20, the path length through which the belts 18, 19 move the blanks is equated to the speed of movement along the path so that each blank is delivered in proper relation to 3 a set of stops 21 on the chains 20. As the blanks are delivered to the belts 13, 19 at the same intervals as they are delivered by the belts to the chains the fact that the belts 18, 19 move the blanks faster does not affect the synchronism of the delivery of the blanks from the belts in relation to the stops on the chains 20.

The higher speed of the belts 13, 19 ensures that the carton blanks are withdrawn from the stops 12 on the chains 11 by the belts instead of the stops having to push the blanks into the nip of the belts. It also eliminates the danger of the stops 12 dragging the trailing edges of the blanks downwards when the stops travel round the chain wheels 14. This would tend to damage the blanks and throw them out of line.

The second carrying chain 20 aifords means for continuously and positively advancing carton blanks through the carton lining machine in regularly spaced relationship, and the operation of the chain 20 is effected in positive timed relationship with that of a glue printing roller 22 for example by means of a common driving connection. The gluing roller 22 has built on the face of a plain cylindrical roller a pattern of ridges 23 in moulded rubber, the mouldings carrying the ridges being secured to the roller. The pattern of ridges conforms to the glue lines on the carton blank, e.g. longitudinal lines near the longitudinal folds and including end flaps for anchorge of a tubular liner, cross lines adjacent to the end flaps, and a final longitudinal closure line for the carton blank itself. The regulated drive of roller 22 ensures that the glue pattern is applied regularly at each revolution to the spaced carton blanks as they pass on carrying chain 20, one revolution of the roller 22 corresponding to the passage of a chain length equal to that between successive stops 21. A heated glue trough 26 and transfer rollers and 24 may be employed in conventional fashion for supplying glue to the ridged pattern 23 of the gluing roller 22.

A reel 27 of fiat web material is conveniently mounted at one side of the machine, e.g. in a flying mechanism affording a pair of such supply reels in a pivoted or otherwise adjustable frame permitting alternative use of the reels, and including means for splicing the end of the web on one reel to the beginning of the web on the other reel when the first reel is exhausted. In this way it is not necessary to stop the machine to change the reels nor to re-thread the web material through the machine. Such a mechanism is termeda flying splice mechanism and its construction is well known per se. The web is conveyed by suitable guide rollers to a level above the prefolding mechanism and the second conveying chain. The web from the reel 27 with its axis parallel to the direction of movement of the carton blanks through the machine conveniently proceeds vertically to a first guide roller and then transversely of the machine to a diagonally placed roller above the pre-folder so that on passage around the diagonal roller the direction of movement of the Web is corrected to one longitudinally of the machine. The web is conducted over further guide rollers 28 and 29 and finally by passage round large diameter wheels 30 and along a tube forming guide 31 the web is converted to tubular form. Final forming of the tube is effected by rollers 32 on the upper surface of the tube, and these rollers may be arranged in pairs for gradually flattening into the centre upturned side edges of the web round the tube former 31. The tube is finally completed by a gluing unit (represented at 33) which delivers molten adhesive intially supplied from a reel of the dry and cold adhesive in tape, rod or filament form which is passed through a suitable heater. The glue feed is by a device variable independently of the supply reel and adjusted according to the speed of the web forming the tube. Molten glue is applied to the tube seam and the continuous tubular lining 36 is forwarded by pressure and feed rollers 34 which present the tubular lining to a rotary cutter 35.

The continuous tube of lining material 36 is fed to a cutter by mean of feed rolls 34 driven by an independent variable speed drive. The cutter 35 is rotary with, say, one or two blades 37 and the blades are timed to operate once for each pass of a chain length between stops 21 of the carton blank feeding and forwarding chain 20, the rotary cutter being operated positively from the same drive as that for the chain 20. The blades 37 sever a length of tubular lining from the supply passed to the cutter by the rollers 34 and the circumference of a cutter cylinder carrying two blades, for example, may be twice the length of a single chain space between stops 21. The tubular lining feed rollers 34, however, are adjusted in speed to pass only that length of tube 36 required for a single carton lining for each operation of the cutter blades 37. The portion of continuous tubular lining 36 as fed by the rolls 34 passes over the cutting cylinder 35 to a set of narrow belts 38 spring pressed against the surface of the cutting cylinder 35 and extending, arcuately around the cutter substantially, to the lowest level of the lowest level of the cutting cylinder 35. These belts 38 and the cutting cylinder 35 will be feeding at the same linear speed as the feed chain 20, and until cutting of the lining tube 36 occurs the belts and cutter 35 will slip slightly on the lining tube 36.

This is because the linear speed of the rollers 34 is less than that of the cutter 35 and the belts 38 and the rollers 34 accordingly hold back the lining tube in relation to the cutter and the belts until after cutting takes place. Belts 38 are carried by pulleys 39. After cutting, the lining element is fed by the belts 38 and cutting roller 35 at the correct speed to transfer pulleys 40 beneath the cutting cylinder 35, the transfer pulleys 40 being of the same diameter as cylinders 35 and spaced between the belts 38 engaging the cutting cylinder 35. By adjusting the speed of the feed rolls 34 it may be ensured that the cut lengths of liner are spaced apart by the required amount so that as they are fed forward on to the blanks at a speed which is synchronised with the speed of advancement of the blanks, they are deposited on the blanks in the correct location. The transfer pulleys 40 co-operate with belts 41, carried on pulleys 42, over an extended arc of the periphery of pulley 40 to deposit the cut lining on the carton blank as it is advanced by the chain 20 after gluing. The nip of the pulleys 40 and belts 41 will be maintained as close as possible to the glued carton blank and all these elements are positively driven at the same linear speed as the chain 20, e.g. from a common power shaft. Two belts and two pulleys at least, and in side by side relationship, are preferred for engaging one width of lining tube. The pulleys 40 conveniently have coil spring belts round their periphery which also serve to hold the cut liner against the carton blank until these combined elements are taken by final feed rolls (not shown) to the final folding section. The carton and lining are taken through the final folding section, in which the blank is folded round the liner, by belts 43 which then lead to a final delivery section of opposed belts 44 and 45 the lower (and/or upper) of which is backed by spring pressed rollers 46 to accommodate groups of cartons which may be stacked by a suitable counting unit, suitable devices for taking up of belting being indicated at 47. No special precautions are required in the driving of the belts for the final folding and delivery sections providing they are adequate to avoid a build up of finished cartons. In fact they will be run somewhat faster than the carrying chain 20.

It will be seen that all operating parts of the machine are in uniform continuous movement and that accuracy of operation is achieved because positive driving interconnection is provided between all parts of the machine in which the carton blank and its cut liner are treated, i.e. between the carton blank advancing driving chains 11 and 20, the gluing rollers 22, liner cutting roller 35 and liner feed wheels 40 for conveying the cut liner to the carton blank. In a specific construction of machine cartons may be fed on parallel tracks and adjustments centralised by the use of adjustment chains interconnecting suitable similarly adjustable screw rods. A unit chain length of, say, 12 inches between stops may be employed for a first range of carton sizes and alternate stops may be removed to give a second range of carton sizes up to nearly two feet. A suitable cutting cylinder size may then be selected so that either one or two cutters on the cylinder may be effective, while the gluing roller drive will be suitably varied, or as in the case of the cutter, the gluing roller may be of a size to have either one or two gluing pattern areas for operating according to the carton size and chain gap adopted.

1 claim:

1. In a carton lining machine comprising means for continuously and positively advancing carton blanks through the machine in regularly spaced relationship, an adhesive printing roller for applying adhesive to the carton blanks advanced by said advancing means, a rotary cutter for severing appropriate lengths of a tubular lining, feeding means for feeding a preformed tubular lining to the rotary cutter, means for transferring the cut lengths of lining from the cutter to the carton blanks advanced by said advancing means at a position subsequent to the printing of the latter with adhesive and driving means for driving said printing roller, said rotary cutter and said transfer means for the cut lengths of lining all continuously and positively in a fixed speed relationship with the means for advancing the carton blanks the improvement which consists in that independently variable driving means is provided for continuously and positively driving said feeding means at an independently variable speed.

2. A carton lining machine comprising an initial feeding device for carton blanks, a first carrying chain having spaced stops to engage the rearward edges of the carton blanks supplied by the feeding device, a carton blank pre-folding and unfolding section comprising endless bands or belts arranged to receive carton blanks carried forward by said carrying chain from said initial feeding device and deliver them to a carton blank gluing and lining section of the machine, the latter comprising a second carrier chain having spaced stops to engage the rearward edges of the carton blanks delivered from the pre-folding and unfolding section and advance the carton blanks in regularly spaced relation through said gluing and lining section, and driving means for driving said first and second carrying chains in synchronism and the endless bands or belts of the carton blank pre-folding and unfolding section at a linear speed somewhat in excess of that of the chains.

3. A carton lining machine comprising means for continuously and positively advancing carton blanks through the machine in regularly spaced relationship, an adhesive printing roller for applying adhesive to the carton blanks advanced by said advancing means, a pair of superposed rollers, the upper one of which comprises a lining cutter for severing appropriate lengths of -a tubular lining, and the lower one of which serves to transfer the cut lengths of lining to the carton blanks advanced by said carton blank advancing means at a position subsequent to the printing of the lattter with adhesive, belts to grip the lining in a nip between the superposed rollers and said belts, the latter being arranged forwardly of the cutting roller and rearwardly of the transfer roller and engaging arcuate paths around the superposed rollers to ensure that the leading edge of the lining and a lining length cut therefrom by the lining cutter is always gripped in a nip, the latter until applied to the carton blank, means for continuously feeding a preformed tubular lining to the rotary cutter, driving means for driving said printing roller, said rotary cutter, and said transfer roller for the out lengths of lining all continuously and positively in a fixed speed relationship with the means for advancing the carton "blanks, and independently variable driving means for continuously and positively driving said feeding means at an independently variable speed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,095,910 10/1937 Bergstein 9336.01 2,166,388 7/1939 Bergstein 9336.01 2,776,606 1/1957 Fischer et a1. 93-366 3,142,231 7/1964 Christensson 9336.6

FOREIGN PATENTS 833,297 4/1960 Great Britain.

BERNARD STICKNEY, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A CARTON LINING MACHINE COMPRISING MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY AND POSITIVELY ADVANCING CARTON BLANKS THROUGH THE MACHINE IN REGULARLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP, AN ADHESIVE PRINTING ROLLER FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TO THE CARTON BLANKS ADVANCED BY SAID ADVANCING MEANS, A ROTARY CUTTER FOR SEVERING APPROPRIATE LENGTHS OF A TUBULAR LINING, FEEDING MEANS FOR FEEDING A PREFORMED TUBULAR LINING TO THE ROTARY CUTTER, MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING THE CUT LENGTHS OF LINING FROM THE CUTTER TO THE CARTON BLANKS ADVANCED BY SAID ADVANCING MEANS AT A POSITION SUBSEQUENT TO THE PRINTING OF THE LATTER WITH ADHESIVE AND DRIVING MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID PRINTING ROLLER, SAID ROTARY CUTTER AND SAID TRANSFER MEANS FOR THE CUT LENGTHS OF LINING ALL CONTINUOUSLY AND POSITIVELY IN A FIXED SPEED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEANS FOR ADVANCING THE CARTON BLANKS THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH CONSISTS IN THAT INDEPENDENTLY VARIABLE DRIVING MEANS IS PROVIDED FOR CONTINUOUSLY AND POSITIVELY DRIVING SAID FEEDING MEANS AT AN INDEPENDENTLY VARIABLE SPEED.

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