Apparatus for setting up folded cartons

Abstract

An apparatus for setting up folded cartons in which a frame has a folded carton magazine attached thereto adjacent a carton conveyor. A carton set-up station is mounted at one end of the conveyor adjacent the magazine, and the bottom carton in the magazine is grasped by suction cups and moved to the set-up station. The carton is set-up in the set-up station and fed to the conveyor as the minor flaps are folded, glued, and the major flaps folded, and finally, the major and minor flaps compressed for the glue to dry and the carton discharged.

I claim: 
     
       1. An apparatus for setting up folded cartons.Iadd., said cartons each having two major flaps and two minor flaps, and said folded cartons having vertical score lines running parallel to the flute direction of the carton, .Iaddend.comprising in combination: a frame;   carton conveyor means for conveying set-up cartons thereon; said carton conveyor means being attached to said frame and having a carton discharge at one end of said carton conveyor means;   carton set-up means located at the other end of said conveyor means for setting up a folded carton fed thereto;   said carton set-up means having at least one vacuum cup for grasping folded cartons on each side during set-up of a carton;   folded carton magazine means located to one side of said set-up means for positioning a stack of folded cartons.[.;.]..Iadd., said magazine means being so positioned that the direction of travel of feed of folded cartons from said magazine means to said set-up means is parallel to the vertical score lines of said folded cartons and is perpendicular to the direction in which set-up cartons are conveyed from said set-up means by said conveyor means; .Iaddend.   folded carton .Iadd.side .Iaddend.feed means for feeding folded cartons from said folded carton magazine means to said carton set-up means, said feed means having at least one .[.suction.]. .Iadd.vacuum .Iaddend.cup for grasping the bottom carton of a .Iadd.vertical .Iaddend.stack of .Iadd.generally horizontally positioned .Iaddend.folded cartons in said magazine and sliding means for sliding said .[.suction.]. .Iadd.vacuum .Iaddend.cup and bottom folded carton from said folded carton magazine means to said carton set-up means.Iadd., in a direction of travel of feed of said folded cartons that is parallel to the vertical score lines of said folded cartons and is perpendicular to the direction in which set-up cartons are conveyed from said set-up means by said conveyor means, .Iaddend.and returning to engage the next folded carton in said magazine; and   vacuum pump and vacuum control system for .Iadd.supplying and .Iaddend.controlling the vacuum on said carton set-up means vacuum cups and said feed means vacuum cup, said .[.vacuum control system having at least one vacuum switch coupled to each said carton set-up means vacuum cup and to said feed means vacuum cup, said switch switching the vacuum between said carton set-up means and said feed means as said feed feed means delivers a folded carton to said carton set-up means whereby said switch simultaneously switches the vacuum back and forth from said carton set-up means to said feed means vacuum cup.]. .Iadd.pump-and-control system having a means for actuating and deactuating said vacuum cups at predetermined points in the carton-erection cycle, said points being so selected that each said feed means vacuum cup is actuated whenever it is sliding from said magazine means to said carton set-up means, and is deactuated whenever said set-up means vacuum cups are grasping said folded cartons on each side during said set-up of a carton.Iaddend..   
     
     
       2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which said apparatus for setting up folded cartons includes: a main drive for driving said side feed means, said carton set-up means, and said carton conveyor in a predetermined sequence.   
     
     
       3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2, in which said apparatus includes: a gluing station for gluing cartons passing thereby on said carton conveyor means and a compressing station for compressing glued flaps together on a carton prior to discharge of said carton from said apparatus.   
     
     
       4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2, in which said main .[.motor.]. drive includes an electrical motor actuated through a gear box to drive a bell crank mechanism for driving a plurality of chains back and forth responsive to the movement of said bell crank. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4, in which said plurality of chain drives includes upper and lower connected conveyor chain drives having dogs coupled thereto for engaging cartons for movement in said conveyor. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, in which said plurality of chain drives includes a chain drive operatively connected to said carton set-up means for lifting one said carton set-up means vacuum cup to raise each folded carton in a predetermined sequence. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 6, in which said chain drive .[.connected to said side feed means.]. is connected through a gear box to a parallel arm mechanism having said vacuum cup attached thereto for raising and lowering said parallel arm mechanism responsive to the movement of said bell crank and chain drive. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 7, in which said .Iadd.electrical motor of said .Iaddend.main drive .[.motor.]. is connected through a clutch and chain drive to said side feed means for sliding said side feed means from said folded carton magazine means to said carton set-up means in a timed relationship. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus in accordance with claim .[.1.]. .Iadd.2.Iaddend., in which said carton set-up means has a carton set-up station having a minor flap .[.tuck.]. .Iadd.tucker .Iaddend.arm mounted adjacent to and adapted to rotate and fold one .Iadd.minor .Iaddend.flap of each folded carton being set-up in said carton set-up means, said .[.rotatable tuck.]. .Iadd.minor flap tucker arm .Iaddend.being connected to an air cylinder for actuation thereof in a timed sequence. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9, in which a cam shaft controls said vacuum control system and has a cam thereon for actuating an air valve upon the rotation of said cam shaft for actuating said minor flap tucker arm responsive to said cam sequence. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 10, .Iadd.having means for gluing flaps and .Iaddend.in which said cam shaft has a second cam thereon actuating an air valve for actuating an air cylinder for driving .[.said.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.compression station compressing member to compress said glued flaps together. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, in which said .Iadd.means for gluing flaps is a .Iaddend.glue gun .Iadd.that .Iaddend.includes a plurality of spray nozzles and a photodetector for actuating said spray nozzles responsive to the carton minor flap blocking out a lamp on the opposite side of said carton from said photodetector. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 12, in which said feed means vacuum .[.cups are.]. .Iadd.cup is .Iaddend.mounted to an arm for lifting said .[.cups.]. .Iadd.cup .Iaddend.slightly to engage the next bottom carton. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 12, in which said cam shaft has a plurality of additional cams mounted thereto for actuating a plurality of microswitches for actuating .[.said.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.clutch connecting said side feed means .Iadd.with said main drive .Iaddend.whereby one cam actuated microswitch will start said clutch .[.for actuating said side feed.]. means and a second said microswitch will disengage said main .[.motor.]. drive responsive to a microswitch located adjacent said feed means not being actuated by the return of said side feed means whereby said side feed means will be disabled in the event of a jam. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 7, in which said carton conveyor means includes a plurality of flap guides for folding said .Iadd.cartons' .Iaddend.flaps in a sequence to close said .Iadd.cartons' .Iaddend.major flaps over said .Iadd.cartons' .Iaddend.minor flaps after said minor flaps have had glue sprayed thereon by .[.said.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.glue gun. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 14, in which said cam shaft is driven by a chain drive from said main .[.motor.]. drive .[.from said main motor.].. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, in which said bell crank mechanism includes a motor-driven crank driving a crank arm actuating a main drive arm pinned to said frame and includes an extension linkage attached to said main drive, said extension linkage being connected to at least one said chain drive. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus in accordance with claim 17, in which said upper and lower chain drives are connected by a connecting chain. .Iadd. 19. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which said vacuum pump-and-control system includes a single vacuum pump and means for switching the vacuum developed by said pump back and forth between said carton set-up means vacuum cup and said feed means vacuum cup, whereby said feed means vacuum cup is deactuated at the same time as said set-up means vacuum cup is actuated, at the point in the carton-erection cycle just after said feed means delivers a folded carton to said set-up means. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 20. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which said folded cartons arrive at said set up means disposed in a substantially horizontal plane so that said folded cartons each have an upper side and an under side, each such side having a major flap, a minor flap, and two side panels, and in which said carton set-up means includes: stationary lower vacuum cup means adapted for grasping and holding down the under side of said folded carton;   movable upper vacuum cup means adapted for grasping the upper side of the upper major flap of said folded carton; and   elevation means for elevating said upper vacuum cup means, thereby elevating said carton's major flap that said upper vacuum cup means grasps and thereby opening said folded carton into a tubular generally-rectangular partially-set-up carton, the outer edges of said grasped upper major flap being elevated higher than the upper edges of the minor flaps of said partially-set-up carton, said elevation means comprising:   rotatable radial arm means vertically rotatable about a first axis that is slightly above the plane of said folded carton, and is parallel to the vertical score lines of said carton, said arm means extending from said first axis a predetermined radial distance to a second axis at which said arm is connected to said upper vacuum cup means;   rotation means for rotating said arm means from an approximately horizontal position to an approximately vertical position;   adjustment means whereby said radial distance is set to be approximately one-half inch greater than the vertical score line to vertical score line length of said minor flaps; and orientation means adapted to maintain said upper vacuum cup means substantially parallel to said plane. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 21. In an apparatus for setting up corrugated cardboard cartons from generally horizontally disposed flattened knocked-down carton blanks having their vertical score lines and the flutings of their corrugations parallel to one another, said apparatus including:   a magazine for holding a stack of flattened carton blanks;   a set-up station having set-up means that open horizontal flattened carton blanks into tubular, generally-rectangular, opened, and at least partially set-up cartons; and that include set-up vacuum-cup means for grasping the flat carton blanks to open them;   feed means for feeding flattened carton blanks from the magazine means to the set-up station, said feed means having: feed vacuum-cup means for grasping the carton blanks in the magazine; and   means for engaging the feed vacuum-cup means against the outer side of the outermost carton blank of the stack of carton blanks in the magazine;     vacuum supply/control means for actuating vacuum cup means and deactuating vacuum cup means, at points in the carton-erection cycle; and   means by which the opened and at least partially set-up cartons exit from the set-up station; the improvement comprising:     location of the magazine to one side of the set-up station, with the magazine so positioned that the direction of travel of feed of carton blanks from the magazine to the set-up station is parallel to the vertical score lines of the carton blank and is perpendicular to the direction in which the cartons exit from the set-up station; and,   in the feed means, reciprocating transport means for slidingly transporting the feed vacuum-cup means and the carton blank grasped thereby, from the magazine to the set-up station in a path parallel to the vertical score lines of the carton blank and perpendicular to the direction in which the   
     
     
        cartons exit from the set-up station. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 22.  The apparatus of claim 21, with the further improvement, in said vacuum supply/control means, comprising: vacuum-switching means for switching a single vacuum line back and forth between the feed vacuum-cup means and set-up vacuum-cup means at predetermined points in the carton-erection cycle, one of said points being that at which the flattened carton blank has been fed to the set-up station and the set-up means is about to open the flattened carton blank, said vacuum-switching means being adapted to deactuate the feed vacuum-cup means at said point and at the same time actuate the set-up vacuum-cup means. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 23. The apparatus of claim 21 in which the flattened carton arrives at the set-up station lying in a substantially horizontal plane, so that it has an upper half and a lower half, each of which halves has a major flap, a minor flap, and two side panels, with the further improvement comprising: stationary set-up vacuum-cup means for grasping the under side of the lower major flap of the carton being opened;   movable set-up vacuum-cup means for grasping the upper side of the upper major flap of the carton;   cup-transport set-up means adapted for raising the movable set-up vacuum-cup means along a quarter-circle upward path from a first point substantially in the same plane as the flattened carton blank when the blank arrives at the set-up station, to a second point substantially in the same plane as the upper side of the opened carton, said first and second points also lying in a further plane perpendicular to the vertical score lines of the carton, said quarter-circle having a center located approximately in the first-described plane and having a predeterminable radius;   adjustment means whereby the radius is set to be at least approximately one-half inch greater than the widths of the set-up carton;   means for actuating the stationary set-up vacuum-cup means and the movable set-up vacuum-cup means so that the stationary means grasps and holds down the lower major flap, while the movable means grasps the upper major flap and the cup-transport set-up means raises the movable means away from the stationary means, thereby opening the carton and extending the outer edges of the major flaps beyond the side edges of the minor flaps;   orientation means for maintaining the movable vacuum-cup set-up means in an orientation substantially parallel to the face of the major flap as the vacuum-cup set-up means grasps the major flap and opens the carton.   
     
     
        .Iaddend. .Iadd. 24.  In an apparatus for setting up cardboard cartons from flattened knocked-down carton blanks, said flattened carton blanks each having an upper and a lower half, each of which halves has a major flap, a minor flap, and two side panels, said apparatus including: a set-up station having set-up means that open horizontal flattened carton blanks into tubular, generally-rectangular, opened, and at least partially set-up cartons; and that include set-up vacuum-cup means for grasping the flat carton blanks to open them; and   feed means for feeding flattened carton blanks to the set-up station; the improvement in the set-up means comprising:     stationary set-up vacuum-cup means for grasping the under side of the lower major flap of the carton being opened;   movable set-up vacuum-cup means for grasping the upper side of the upper major flap of the carton;   cup-transport set-up means adapted for raising the movable set-up vacuum-cup means along a quarter-circle upward path from a first point substantially in the same plane as the flattened carton blank when the blank arrives at the set-up station, to a second point substantially in the same plane as the upper side of the opened carton, said first and second points also lying in a further plane perpendicular to the vertical score lines of the carton, said quarter-circle having a center located approximately in the first-described plane and having a predeterminable radius;   adjustment means whereby the radius is set to be at least approximately one-half inch greater than the widths of the set-up carton;   means for actuating the stationary set-up vacuum-cup means and the movable set-up vacuum-cup means so that the stationary means grasps and holds down the lower major flap, while the movable means grasps the upper major flap and the cup-transport set-up means raises the movable means away from the stationary means, thereby opening the carton and extending the outer edges of the major flaps beyond the side edges of the minor flaps;   orientation means for maintaining the movable vacuum-cup set-up means in an orientation substantially parallel to the face of the major flap as the vacuum-cup set-up means grasps the major flap and opens the carton.   
     
     
        .Iaddend. .Iadd. 25.  A method of automatically setting up corrugated cardboard cartons from flattened knocked-down carton blanks having their vertical score lines and the flutings of their corrugations parallel to one another, said flattened carton blanks each including four side panels, two inner (minor) flaps, and two outer (major) flaps, comprising the following steps: (1) grasping the outermost carton blank from a vertical stack of generally horizontally disposed flattened carton blanks by means of at least one actuated carton-feed vacuum cup;   (2) transporting therefrom said actuated carton-feed vacuum cup and the flat carton blank grasped thereby, slidingly in a direction parallel to the vertical score lines of said carton blank, until said flat carton blank has been transported above and lies horizontally against at least one unactuated lower set-up vacuum cup;   (3) placing at least one unactuated upper set-up vacuum cup above and engaging against the upper side of said flat horizontal carton blank;   (4) deactuating and thereby releasing the grasp of said carton-feed vacuum cup;   (5) actuating said upper and lower set-up vacuum cups, thereby causing said actuated cups to grasp the opposite sides of said flat carton blank;   (6) raising said actuated upper set-up vacuum cup away from said lower set-up vacuum cup while maintaining the faces of said cups substantially parallel to one another, thereby opening said flat carton blank into a tubular, generally-rectangular form;   (7) tucking in the inner (minor) flaps and then the outer (major) flaps of said opened carton blank, and fastening said flaps together, thereby   
     
     
        making a set-up carton. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 26.  The method of claim 25 in which the fourth and fifth steps occur simultaneously, as a single vacuum line is at the same time switched to said upper and lower set-up vacuum cups and away from said carton-feed vacuum cup. .Iaddend..Iadd. 27. The method of claim 25 in which, at the end of the second step, said unactuated lower set-up vacuum cup is under and engaged against a lower major flap on the under side of the horizontal flat carton blank; in the third step, said unactuated upper set-up vacuum cup is placed against an upper major flap on the upper side of the horizontal flat carton blank; and, in the sixth step, said lower set-up vacuum cup is stationary and the outer edges of the upper major flap are raised above the upper edges of the minor flaps of said opened carton blank. .Iaddend..Iadd. 28. The method of claim 27 in which, in the sixth step, said upper set-up vacuum cup follows a quarter-circle upward path from a first point in a first plane substantially that of the upper side of the horizontal flat carton blank to a second point in a second plane substantially that of the upper side of the opened carton, said first and second points lying in a further plane perpendicular to said hinge axes, said quarter-circle having a center located approximately in said first plane and having a radius approximately one-half inch greater than the width of the set-up carton. .Iaddend.