System and a Method for Packing and Delivering Folded Items

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system (100) for packing and delivering folded items. The system includes a feeding mechanism (10), a transport platform (20), a handling apparatus (50) and a delivery area (500). The handling apparatus (50), positioned next to the transport platform, picks up stacks and releases into receptacles at the delivery area (500). The delivery area (500) includes a workbench (60). A conveying mechanism (70) brings empty receptacles to the workbench (60). A holding unit (80) secures the receptacles placed on the workbench (60). A stack support arrangement (85) creates a partition within the empty receptacle (65) configuring individual compartments within the empty receptacle (65). After filling up each compartment with a stack of folded items, a pressing mechanism (90) presses the stack of folded items (1) within the filled receptacle (66). Further, a transfer mechanism (95) moves the filled receptacles to a final delivery area (500a).

We claim: 
     
         1 . A system for packing and delivering of folded items, the system comprising:
 a feeding mechanism configured to transport the folded items from a conveyor unit to a transport platform, the feeding mechanism sequentially introduces individual folded items into the transport platform and the transport platform facilitates in transportation of the stack or a partially assembled stack of the folded items from a first stacking area to a designated stacking area:   a handling apparatus arranged adjacent to the transport platform, the handling apparatus is adapted to pick up at least one stack of folded items from the designated stacking area and release the stack of folded items into atleast one receptacle arranged at a delivery area;   a workbench adapted to hold at least one receptacle, the workbench being a platform configured in the same plane as the transport platform to allow the handling apparatus to release the stack of folded items directly into the atleast one receptacle arranged on the workbench;   a conveying mechanism to transport at least one receptacle to the workbench, the conveying mechanism include a conveying unit adapted to hold at least one empty receptacle and movable between a feeding area and the workbench, wherein the conveying unit is capable of holding atleast one empty receptacle received from the feeding area and travel upward to transfer the atleast one empty receptacle towards the platform and can release the atleast one empty receptacle when the conveying unit reaches the workbench;   a holding unit arranged at a side portion of the workbench to secure the atleast one receptacle in the workbench during filling the folded items into the receptacles, the holding unit engages with the sides of the atleast one receptacle to securely hold the receptacle within the platform;   a stack support arrangement movably arranged on the workbench of the system, the stack support arrangement creates a partition within the empty receptacle, configuring individual compartments within the empty receptacle, such that the stack of folded items when released by the handling apparatus fills within the compartments created by the stack support arrangement;   a transfer mechanism to transfer at least one filled receptacle to the final delivery area, the transfer mechanism including a slider to move at least one filled receptacle to a final delivery area, with the slider returning to its original position after delivering the filled receptacle.   
     
     
         2 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the conveying unit includes a holding arrangement to hold a corresponding empty receptacle, the holding arrangement releases the corresponding empty receptacles when the conveying unit reaches the workbench. 
     
     
         3 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the conveying mechanism includes a pushing unit to push the conveyor unit across the workbench platform to deliver the empty receptacle on the workbench platform. 
     
     
         4 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the holding unit has a suction cup arranged stationarily at a side portion of the workbench, the holding unit activates when the conveying unit delivers atleast one receptacle in the workbench, such that the activation of the holding unit enables the engagement of the atleast one empty receptacle placed on the platform of the workbench to feed the stack of folded items from the handling apparatus to the atleast one receptacle, wherein the holding unit releases the atleast one receptacle when the atleast one empty receptacle is completely filled with the folded items. 
     
     
         5 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the transfer mechanism activates after the disengagement of the holding unit from the atleast one filled receptacle, the slider activates to push the at least one filled receptacle to a movable conveyor unit arranged perpendicular to the movement of the slider, the movable conveyor unit delivers the atleast one filled receptacle to the final delivery area for dispatch. 
     
     
         6 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the stack support arrangement is movably arranged above the workbench and movable within the empty receptacle to configure compartments and to support a predefined amount of folded items or a stack of folded items within the atleast one empty receptacle, wherein the stack support arrangement is arranged in a longitudinal axis along the length direction of the receptacle, the stack support arrangement includes two shafts arranged opposite to each other and in the longitudinal axis, each of the shaft is having a plurality of arms wherein the space between the adjacent pair of arms are adjustable laterally, each arm extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to workbench platform such that when the empty receptacle is placed on the workbench platform, the stack support arrangement moves downwards and each of the arms moves within a portion of the empty receptacle configuring a partition or multiple compartment within the receptacle and provides support to the predefined amount of folded items or the stack of folded items within the corresponding compartments. 
     
     
         7 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein after filling up each compartment with a predefined stack of folded items, a pressing mechanism presses the stack of folded items within the filled receptacle to support and ensure the alignment of the folded items within the empty receptacle, wherein the pressing mechanism includes a plurality of rods adapted to extend perpendicular towards the corresponding arms of the stack support arrangement, each rods having a spacer arrangement to partially pass through the corresponding arms when the rods extends perpendicularly towards the corresponding arms and is adapted to slide downwards to engage with a top surface of the folded items arranged within the empty receptacle. 
     
     
         8 . The system as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the pressing mechanism slides upwards and retracts to the original position after when the stack support arrangement retracts to its original position, and before the slider pushes the at least one filled receptacle to the movable conveyor unit, wherein after retraction of the pressing mechanism and the stack support arrangement, the atleast one filled receptacle is released from the hold of the holding unit and the slider activates to push the at least one filled receptacle to the movable conveyor unit. 
     
     
         9 . The system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the slider is an “L” shaped member which moves linearly along a sliding path configured on the workbench, the slider is adapted to move linearly towards the movable conveyor unit after the receptacle is filled with a predefined number of folded items. 
     
     
         10 . A system for delivering folded items, the system comprising:
 a feeding area configured to feed at least one empty receptacle and transfer the atleast one empty receptacle to a conveying unit;   a conveying mechanism for transporting the at least one empty receptacle to a workbench, wherein the conveying mechanism includes a conveying unit which is adapted to collect atleast one empty receptacle from the feeding area, hold the at least one receptacle and travel upward to transfer the empty receptacle to the platform, the conveying unit securely hold and releases the receptacle when it reaches the workbench, wherein the conveying mechanism includes a pushing unit to push the empty receptacle towards the workbench platform for receiving a stack of folded items from a handling apparatus;   a holding unit arranged at a side portion of the workbench, configured to hold a receptacle on the workbench by engaging with the sides of the receptacle;   a stack support arrangement movably arranged on the workbench of the system, the stack support arrangement creates a partition within the empty receptacle configuring individual compartments within the empty receptacle;   a handling apparatus configured to release a stack of folded items into the corresponding compartments of the empty receptacle arranged at a delivery area on the workbench;   a pressing mechanism to press the stack of folded items within the filled receptacle to support and ensure the alignment of the folded items within the empty receptacle after filling up each compartment with a predefined stack of folded items; and   a transfer mechanism including a slider to transfer at least one filled receptacle to a final delivery area, with the slider returning to its original position after delivering the filled receptacle.   
     
     
         11 . The system as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the stack support arrangement is arranged in a longitudinal axis along the length direction of the receptacle, the stack support arrangement includes two shafts arranged opposite to each other and in the longitudinal axis, each of the shaft is having a plurality of arms wherein the space between the adjacent pair of arms are adjustable laterally, each arm extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to workbench platform such that when the empty receptacle is placed on the workbench platform, the stack support arrangement moves downwards and each of the arms moves within a portion of the empty receptacle configuring a partition or multiple compartment within the receptacle and provides support to the predefined amount of folded items or the stack of folded items within the corresponding compartments, wherein after filling up each compartment with a predefined stack of folded items, the stack support arrangement retracts to its original position and the slider activates to push the at least one filled receptacle to a movable conveyor unit. 
     
     
         12 . The system as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the feeding area includes a conveyor belt to feed the empty receptacles towards the conveying unit, wherein the empty receptacles are fed manually into the feeding area and the conveyor belt conveys the empty receptacles towards the conveying unit when the conveying unit moves downwards after dispatching atleast one empty receptacle in the workbench. 
     
     
         13 . The system as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the pressing mechanism includes a plurality of rods adapted to extend perpendicular towards the corresponding arms of the stack support arrangement, each rods having a spacer arrangement to partially pass through the corresponding arms when the rods extend perpendicularly towards the corresponding arms and is adapted to slide downwards to engage with a top surface of the folded items arranged within the empty receptacle. 
     
     
         14 . The system as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the pressing mechanism slides upwards and retracts to the original position after when the stack support arrangement retracts to its original position, and before the slider pushes the at least one filled receptacle to the movable conveyor unit, wherein after retraction of the pressing mechanism and the stack support arrangement, the atleast one filled receptacle is released from the hold of the holding unit and the slider activates to push the at least one filled receptacle to the movable conveyor unit. 
     
     
         15 . A method for delivering folded items, the method comprising the steps of:
 feeding atleast one empty receptacle from a feeding area to a conveying unit of a conveying mechanism;   transporting the atleast one empty receptacles to a workbench using the conveying unit, wherein the conveying unit is capable of holding atleast one empty receptacle received from the feeding area and travelling upward to transfer the atleast one empty receptacle towards a workbench platform;   releasing and pushing the empty receptacle from the conveying unit towards the workbench platform;   holding at least one receptacle on the workbench using a holding unit arranged at a side portion of the workbench, the holding unit engages with the sides of the empty receptacle;   configuring multiple compartments using a stack support arrangement within the receptacle to support a predefined number of folded items or a stack of folded items within the corresponding compartments;   releasing a stack of folded items into the corresponding compartments of the receptacle arranged at a delivery area on the work bench using a handling apparatus;   pressing the stack of folded items within the receptacle by a pressing mechanism to support and ensure the alignment of the folded items within the receptacle;   releasing the stack of folded items from the hold of stack support arrangement, pressing mechanism and the holding member;   transferring at least one filled receptacle to a final delivery area using a transfer mechanism that includes a slider to move the filled receptacle, with the slider returning to its original position after delivering the filled receptacle.   
     
     
         16 . The method as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the feeding area includes a conveyor belt to feed the empty receptacle towards the at least one conveying unit, wherein the empty receptacles are fed manually into the feeding area and the conveyor belt conveys the empty receptacles towards the conveying unit. 
     
     
         17 . The method as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the conveying unit includes a holding arrangement to hold a corresponding empty receptacle, the holding arrangement release the corresponding empty receptacles when the conveying unit reaches the workbench. 
     
     
         18 . The method as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the stack support arrangement is movably arranged above the workbench and movable within the receptacle to configure compartments and to support a predefined amount of folded items or a stack of folded items within the atleast one receptacle. 
     
     
         19 . The method as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the stack support arrangement is retracted to its original position after filling each compartment with a predefined stack of folded items and the slider is activated to push the at least one filled receptacle to a movable conveyor unit after the holding unit releases the filled receptacle. 
     
     
         20 . The method as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the transfer mechanism activates after disengagement of the holding unit from the at least one receptacle, the slider pushing the filled receptacle to a movable conveyor unit arranged perpendicular to the slider's movement, and the conveyor unit delivering the filled receptacle to the final delivery area for dispatch.