Carboard packer, and a blank picker for a cardboard packer

Abstract

A cardboard packer is provided, comprising a blank magazine, a blank feeder, and a blank picker for transporting a single blank from the magazine to the feeder. The blank picker comprises an upper picking unit configured to attach to an upper portion of the blank, and a bottom picking unit configured to attach to a bottom portion of the blank.

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         15 . A cardboard packer, comprising a blank magazine, a blank feeder, and a blank picker for transporting a single blank from the magazine to the feeder, wherein the blank picker comprises an upper picking unit configured to attach to an upper portion of the blank, and a bottom picking unit configured to attach to a bottom portion of the blank. 
     
     
         16 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 15 , wherein the upper picking unit is located at a first height along a vertical direction, and the bottom picking unit is located at a second height along said vertical direction, the first height being higher than the second height. 
     
     
         17 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 16 , wherein the blank magazine is oriented along a slanted plane, which is slanted with respect to the vertical direction. 
     
     
         18 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 15 , wherein the bottom picking unit comprises at least one picking device. 
     
     
         19 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 16 , wherein the picking device is configured to grip the bottom portion of the blank. 
     
     
         20 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 15 , wherein the bottom picking unit ( 120 ) comprises at least a first picking device and a second picking device, the first and the second picking devices being spaced-apart from each other. 
     
     
         21 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 18 , wherein the first picking device and the second picking device of the bottom picking unit are spaced apart along a horizontal direction perpendicular to a weight force. 
     
     
         22 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 18 , wherein the first picking device and the second picking device of the bottom picking unit are configured to grip a first bottom corner and a second bottom corner of the blank, respectively. 
     
     
         23 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 15 , wherein the upper picking unit is movable on an upper guide from a first position, in which it is configured to grip the upper portion of the blank from the magazine, to a second position, in which it is configured to release the blank to the feeder. 
     
     
         24 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 23 , wherein the bottom picking unit is movable on an upper guide from a third position in which it is configured to grip the bottom portion of the blank from the magazine to a fourth position in which it is configured to release the blank, wherein the fourth position of the bottom picking unit is upstream of the third position of the upper picking unit, along a path travelled by the blank. 
     
     
         25 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 15 , wherein the upper picking unit and the bottom picking unit are configured to grip the blank by applying a suction force. 
     
     
         26 . The cardboard packer cording to  claim 25 , further comprising a vacuum pump, wherein each of the upper picking unit and the bottom picking unit includes one or more cups connected to the vacuum pump. 
     
     
         27 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 15 , further comprising a control unit connected to at least the bottom picking unit for activating the bottom picking unit. 
     
     
         28 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 27 , wherein the control unit is programmed to activate the bottom picking unit according to a first actuation scheme, wherein the control unit is programmed to activate the upper picking unit according to a second actuation scheme, whereby the first actuation scheme is different from the second actuation scheme. 
     
     
         29 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 28 , wherein the second actuation scheme is designed to keep the upper picking unit activated along all the path travelled by the blank from the magazine to the feeder, while the first actuation scheme is designed to keep the bottom picking unit activated only along an initial portion of the path travelled by the blank from the magazine towards the feeder. 
     
     
         30 . The cardboard packer according to  claim 29 , wherein the first actuation scheme is configured to activate the bottom picking unit to pick up the blank at the magazine and to deactivate the bottom picking unit when the blank is at an intermediate position between the magazine and the feeder, said intermediate position being distanced both from the magazine and from the feeder. 
     
     
         31 . A blank picker for transporting a single blank from a magazine to a feeder of a cardboard packer, comprising an upper picking unit configured to attach to an upper portion of the blank, and a bottom picking unit configured to attach to a bottom portion of the blank. 
     
     
         32 . A method for transporting a blank from a magazine to a feeder of a cardboard packer, comprising:
 arranging a blank picker in close proximity to a blank stored in the magazine,   activating the blank picker such that an upper picking unit of the blank picker grips an upper portion of the blank, and a bottom picking unit of the blank picker grips a bottom portion of the blank,   moving the blank picker towards the feeder, and   de-activating the blank picker when the blank is located at the feeder.   
     
     
         33 . The method according to  claim 32 , wherein de-activating the blank picker comprises de-activating the bottom picking unit and de-activating the upper picking unit, wherein the bottom picking unit is de-activated before de-activating the upper picking unit. 
     
     
         34 . The method according to  claim 32 , wherein the upper picking unit grips the upper portion of the blank simultaneously as the bottom picking unit grips the bottom portion of the blank.