CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. National Phase under 35. U.S.C. § 371 of International Application PCT/SE2019/050527, filed Jun. 5, 2019, which claims priority to Swedish Patent Application No. 1850699-8, filed Jun. 8, 2018. The disclosures of the above-described applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device adapted for erecting folded cartons. The device can be configured for erecting a carton either at the rear panel or at the front panel of the folded carton.

BACKGROUND ART

In the industry concerned with packing smaller objects such as tubes, bottles and the like in carton boxes, there is a constant need to increase the productivity of the packing machines. One aspect of a packing machine is the number of units that the machine can handle during a specific time interval. There are different ways of achieving a higher throughput in such a machine. One way is to reduce the cycle time for each object, i.e. to allow more objects to pass the machine during the same time interval. Such a solution is often difficult to achieve since it may involve a redesign of the machine and at some point, it is not possible to reduce the cycle time for a specific operation. Another way to increase the throughput in a production line is to use several parallel machines, at least for some operations. Such a solution requires more space and is not as cost-effective, but may be a possibility when an older production line is to be upgraded. Another way to increase the efficiency of a product line is to minimize the still-stand of the production line, e.g. when the production line is changed from one type of product to another type of product.

One type of machine that there may be a need to improve is the machine that pick up pre-glued folded paper cartons, erects them and feeds them to a conveyor track. On the conveyor track, the cartons continue to the next station, in which a tube or the like is inserted into the carton, with or without an instruction leaflet. The side flaps of the carton are then folded and the carton is closed, sealed if required, and packed in larger shipping units.

Depending on how the carton is designed, how it is to be placed in the conveyor track, and on how the folded carton is stored in the infeed magazine, there is a need to erect the folded carton from the proper side. In some systems, the folded carton is erected at the front panel of the folded carton, i.e. the side pointing in the moving direction of the conveyor track holding the erected cartons. In other systems, the folded carton is erected at the rear panel of the folded carton, i.e. the side pointing backwards to the moving direction of the conveyor track. The erected carton is then inserted in the conveyor track such that either the front panel or the rear panel of the erected carton will first bear on a holding teeth of the conveyor track.

EP 0800450 B1 describes a carton transfer assembly adapted to transfer folded cartons from a hopper, open them and transfer them to a conveyor. The cartons are opened by an extensible rod. The opened cartons are inserted in carton pockets provided between chain lugs. The length of the carton pocket is longer than the carton itself, thereby allowing the opened carton to be inserted into the carton pocket during the rotation of the rotary feeder.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,561 B2 and EP 1594745 B1 describe an apparatus for erecting boxes and setting them on a conveyor. The apparatus pick up folded boxes from a magazine, erects them and inserts them into conveyor cells on a conveyor track. The cartons are erected to a square shape by an erecting element and are inserted at the infeed end of the conveyor track. The cartons are inserted between lugs attached to the conveyor track and having a distance between them that corresponds to the width of the carton to be inserted. In order to be able to feed the carton to the conveyor track, the carton is inserted at the infeed end of the conveyor track, where the conveyor chain changes direction and is conveyed on a wheel. In this end region of the conveyor track, the lugs are angled apart due to the conveyor wheel, which allows the erected cartons to be inserted between the lugs. When the carton is inserted and the chain has moved somewhat, the lugs will be perpendicular to the conveyor chain again and will hold the carton in position. The height of the rear lug is substantially lower than the front lug in order to facilitate the insertion of the box. This requires two lugs for each box.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,490 describes an apparatus for erecting a folding box and folding its closure tabs before it is transferred into a conveyor device.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,436 describes a device for erecting and counter collapsing boxes from preformed blanks. The erected box may then be fed to a conveyor belt having compartment dividers adapted to hold the boxes. The boxes enter at the infeed end of the conveyor belt, where the conveyor belt changes direction and is conveyed on a wheel. In this end region of the conveyor belt, the compartment dividers are angled apart due to the conveyor wheel, which allows the erected boxes to enter between the compartment dividers.

EP 0331325 B1 describes a rotary transfer mechanism which is adapted to pick flat, collapsed cartons from a magazine. The cartons are picked from the magazine by a pick head having suctions cups. The cartons may open slightly during the removal from the magazine, but the cartons are substantially in their collapsed condition when the insertion of the carton into the conveyor begins. During the insertion, the leading corner hits a leading flight of the conveyor and since the pick head moves faster than the conveyor, the carton is pulled against the leading flight of the conveyor and is thus pulled open. In this way, a folded carton can be inserted between two parallel flights of the conveyor. One problem may be to handle cartons in which residual glue inside the carton causes the sides of the carton to stick to each other.

These devices for erecting flat-folded cartons may work well for some applications, but may be inflexible for different types of flat-folded cartons. There is thus room for improvements.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

An object of the invention is therefore to provide a carton feeding device which is adapted for both leading edge and trailing edge carton erection.

The solution to the problem according to the invention is described in the characterizing part of claim1. The other claims contain advantageous embodiments and further developments of the carton feeding device.

In a carton feeding device for feeding cartons to a conveyor track, comprising a replaceable pick-up head attached to the carton feeding device at an attachment, where the pick-up head comprises a plurality of vacuum cups and an erecting means pivotally suspended at the pick-up head, where the attachment for the pick-up head is arranged on a rotor arm, the object of the invention is achieved in that the attachment is adapted to receive different pick-up heads, and that the carton feeding device comprises an actuator means comprising a first interface adapted to actuate a leading edge erecting arm and a second interface adapted to actuate a trailing edge erecting arm.

By this first embodiment of the carton feeding device according to the invention, a carton feeding device is obtained that can be used for both leading edge carton erection and trailing edge carton erection. This is achieved in that the carton feeding device is provided with an actuator bar having an interface for both a leading edge carton erecting arm and a trailing edge carton erecting arm. A carton feeding device can thus be altered from erecting folded cartons at a leading edge to a carton feeding device erecting folded cartons at a trailing edge by replacing the pick-up head. Since the actuating means for the erecting device is adapted to be used for both leading edge carton erection and trailing edge carton erection, the switch between leading edge carton erection and trailing edge carton erection is simple.

In one example of the carton feeding device, the pick-up head comprises an erecting means adapted for leading edge erection of folded cartons. The erecting means is in the example mounted on the rear side of the pick-up head when seen in the direction of movement of the conveyor track. The erecting means will in this example bear on the rear panel of the folded carton. The erecting means is actuated by an actuator means arranged on the carton feeding device. The erecting means may be symmetrical and it may be possible to remove the erecting means from the pick-up head and to mount it on the front side of the pick-up head. In this way, the erecting means will now be adapted for trailing edge erection of folded cartons, and will bear on the front panel of a folded carton. This transformation can be done since the actuating means is adapted for actuating both a leading edge erection arm and a trailing edge erection arm.

In one example the pick-up head with the erecting means can be replaced with a pick-up head having another size or type of erecting means. The pick-up head is attached to the carton feeding device with a releasable attachment means having a specific mechanical interface, such that the pick-up head can be released and attached in a quick manner. The pick-up head is released by using a quick release means, e.g. a lever or the like, and can then be pulled away from the carton feeding device, and another pick-up head can be pushed on the attachment and fastened by the lever.

The pick-up heads may have different sizes. The length of a pick-up head may vary depending on the length of a folded carton and the pick-up head may be provided with different numbers of vacuum cups, e.g. two, three or four, depending on the length of the folded carton. The width of the pick-up head may also vary, depending on the width of a folded carton and on the type of erection of the folded carton.

For a leading edge erection of folded cartons, the folded carton is in the shown example always held close to the bend line between the upper panel and the rear panel, and the folded carton is always erected in the same way. This means that for a leading edge erection of folded cartons, the erecting means will be arranged at the same position regardless of the width of the carton, i.e. the width of the upper panel of the folded carton.

For a trailing edge erection of folded cartons, the folded carton will also be held close to the bend line between the upper panel and the front panel, and since the carton feeding device will insert the cartons in the same conveyor in the same way, the width of the pick-up head must be adapted to the width of the carton, i.e. the width of the upper panel of the folded carton. This means that for a trailing edge erection of folded cartons, the erecting means will be arranged at a different position of the carton feeding device depending on the width of the carton, i.e. the width of the upper panel of the folded carton. The actuating means is adapted for the different widths of cartons.

It is also possible to design the conveyor track such that cartons erected with a trailing edge erection will always be held at the same position, and that the width of the pick-up head varies with the width of the cartons for leading edge erection. In this way, the pick-up head will have the same positions for differently sized cartons for trailing edge erection, and will change position when leading edge erection is used.

The actuating means is provided with a first interface adapted to actuate a leading edge erecting arm and a second interface adapted to actuate a trailing edge erecting arm. In one example, the first interface and the second interface are grooves arranged in an actuating bar. The first interface must only be able to handle the fixed position of the leading edge erecting arm. The groove may thus be relatively short. The second interface must be able to handle all widths of cartons and thus the different positions of the trailing edge erecting arm, which means that the second groove may be relatively long, and longer than the groove of the first interface.

The cartons are inserted in a conveyor at an end region of the conveyor, where the teeth are angled apart during the insertion of the erected carton. This type of inserting cartons in a conveyor is well-known to the skilled person and is not described closer.

