System and method for installing a lid

Abstract

A lid seating system and method for seating a lid onto a container, for example, seating a corrugated cardboard box lid onto a corrugated cardboard box container. The system can comprise a lid dispensing chute having a dispensing end portion and a distal load end portion and can extending in a direction of conveyance for dispensing box lids to engage box containers traveling along the conveyor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A lid seating system for seating a lid onto a container comprising:
 a lid dispensing chute having a dispensing end portion, said dispensing chute extending in a direction of conveyance with a downward slope to a dispensing exit port and said dispensing end portion dispose proximately above a substantially horizontally extending conveyance system; and   said conveyance system having a conveying direction in the direction of conveyance and said conveyance system including an index conveyor and a speed-up loading conveyor in-line with said indexing conveyor along a path of conveyance.   
     
     
         2 . The lid system as recited in  claim 1 , where the dispensing end portion further comprises,
 an actuatable indexer assembly having an indexing member, said indexing member having an index position extending inward inside the chute and a retracted position stowed outside the chute where said indexing member is selectively actuatable to move the indexing member to the index position and to the retracted stowed position.   
     
     
         3 . The lid system as recited in  claim 2 , where the actuatable indexer assembly includes forward and rear actuatable indexing members. 
     
     
         4 . The lid system as recited in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 an upper sensor and a lower sensor positioned downstream with respect to the upper sensor along the direction of conveyance and said upper and lower sensors positioned adjacent the path of conveyance of the conveyance system and operable to sense an item being conveyed along the path of conveyance;   said upper sensor having an upper sensor signal transmitter operable to output an upper output control signal responsive to an item being adjacent said upper sensor along the path of conveyance;   said lower sensor having a lower sensor signal transmitter operable to output a lower output control signal responsive to an item being adjacent said lower sensor along the path of conveyance;   a rear transducer communicably connected to receive said upper output control signal and operable to actuate said rear actuatable indexing member responsive to receiving said upper output control signal; and   a forward transducer communicably connected to receive said lower output control signal and operable to actuate said forward actuatable indexing member responsive to receiving said lower output control signal.   
     
     
         5 . The lid system as recited in  claim 1 , where the lid dispensing chute includes a loading end portion distal from said dispensing end portion. 
     
     
         6 . The lid system as recited in  claim 5 , where the loading end portion includes a loading indexer assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The lid system as recited in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a load sensor positioned adjacent the loading end portion;
 said load sensor having a load sensor signal transmitter operable to output a load output control signal responsive to an item being adjacent a loading channel of the loading end portion and adjacent said load sensor; and 
   a load transducer communicably connected to receive said load output control signal and operable to actuate said load actuatable indexing member responsive to receiving said load output control signal.   
     
     
         8 . The lid system as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a strapping station positioned over the speed-up conveyor including an automated strapping mechanism; and   a pliable finger extending vertically downward toward the conveyance system and sufficiently pliable to allow an item being conveyed along the speed-up conveyor to pass and sufficiently resilient to apply a downward force for items passing thereby.   
     
     
         9 . The lid system as recited in  claim 8 , where the strapping station includes substantially horizontally extending hold-down guide bars for holding down items being strapped. 
     
     
         10 . The lid system as recited in  claim 9 , further comprising a horizontal row of a plurality of pliable fingers each vertically extending downward where said horizontal row extends laterally and substantially orthongonal with respect to the direction of conveyance. 
     
     
         11 . The lid system as recited in  claim 1 , where the speed up conveyor is an endless belt gripper conveyor and said lid system further comprising:
 an upper sensor and a lower sensor positioned downstream with respect to the upper sensor along the direction of conveyance and said upper and lower sensors positioned adjacent a path of conveyance of the conveyance system and operable to sense an item being conveyed along the path of conveyance;   said upper sensor having an upper sensor signal transmitter operable to output an upper output control signal responsive to not sensing an item being adjacent said upper sensor along the path of conveyance; and   a speed-up conveyor transducer communicably connected to receive said upper output control signal and operable to speed up the speed-up conveyor responsive to receiving said upper output control signal.   
     
     
         12 . The lid system as recited in  claim 10 , where the indexing conveyor is an endless belt indexing conveyor. 
     
     
         13 . A method for seating a lid onto a container comprising the steps of:
 gravity feeding an in-line series of box lids through a downwardly slopped box lid chute having a dispensing end portion disposed over a conveyor;   releasing a front most box lid from a box lid chute allowing a leading edge of the box lid to drop down to the conveyor lower than the trailing edge and indexing the next in line box lid;   conveying a box container along the conveyor and engaging the leading end of the box container with the leading edge of the box lid; and   pulling the box lid downstream along the path of conveyance by continuing to convey the box container thereby pulling the trailing end of the box lid from the chute and allowing the trailing end of the box lid to drop over the box container.   
     
     
         14 . The method as recited in  claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:
 urging downward the box lid with bars horizontally extending along the path of conveyance and at a height to urge the box lid downward while allowing the box container to be conveyed thereunder.   
     
     
         15 . The method as recited in  claim 14 , further comprising the steps of:
 urging downward the box lid with pliable fingers extending vertically downward into the path of conveyance where the fingers are sufficiently pliable to allow the box container to be conveyed thereunder and sufficiently resilient to urge the box lid downward.   
     
     
         16 . The method as recited in  claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:
 determining using a sensing device if a front most box lid has been released allowing the leading edge of box to drop down to the conveyor level and said front most box lid is adjacent the sensing device;   indexing the next in line box lid if the front most box lid is determined to be adjacent the sensing device;   releasing the next in line box lid if the front most box lid is determined to not be adjacent the sensing device.