Method of forming wrap-around shipper package
United States Patent [191 Langen Apr. 8, 1975 [76] Inventor: Marinus J. M. Langen, 21 Chilcot Ave.. Rexdale, Ontario. Canada 221 Filed: July 5,1973  
  211 Appl. No.: 376,556  
 [52] U.S. Cl. 53/32; 53/195; 53/233 [51] Int. Cl. B65b 11/48 [58] Field of Search 53/32, 195, 209, 228, 229.  
 Primary E.\&#39;aminerTravis S. McGehee Assistant E.t&#39;uminer.lohn Sipos Attorney, Agent. or FirmFetherstonhaugh &amp; Co.  
 [57] ABSTRACT A method of forming a wrap-around shipper package wherein a package is located in a tray which subsequently acts as a mandrel about which the blank is wrapped. The trays in which the package is located are moved in a predetermined path through a loading station, a wrapping station and a tray withdrawal station. in the loading station, the packages are deposited in the trays. In the wrapping station, a blank is positioned in the path of the moving trays and is thereafter formed about the tray as it moves in said path and it is subsequently sealed to the configuration of a sleeve. The tray is inverted in the course of the wrapping and sealing operation so that the contents of the tray are deposited onto a wall of the carton and thereafter the tray is withdrawn. The carton is then closed and discharged from the apparatus.  
 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures METHOD OF FORMING WRAP-AROUND SI-IIPPER PACKAGE FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to the loading of cartons. In particular, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a loaded shipper package from a wrap-around carton blank.  
 PRIOR ART Because of the difficulties which have been experienced in attempting to end load shipper packages, it has previously been proposed to form a shipper package by forming a wrap-around blank about an article which is to be shipped therein. Attempts have been made to package bottles and cans in wrap-around packages wherein the load to be shipped forms the mandrel about which the wrap-around package is formed. One of the advantages of the wrap-around package is that it eliminates the need to open the knocked down carton to receive its load and to align the load with the open end of the carton so that it may be pushed into the carton.  
  The practice of forming a wrap-around carton about a pay-load according to the known methods is not practical where the load is not sufficiently rigid to form a mandrel about which the package may be formed. For example, there are a very large number of cartons distributed&#39; today wherein the contents of the carton are contained within a sealed pouch which is located in the carton. The sealed pouch is required because the cartons in themselves are rarely air-tight and once opened cannot be resealed to an air-tight form. Many products would deteriorate rapidly if not stored within a package such as a wax paper or plastic pouch. Breakfast cereals are examples of products which are packaged in a pouch which is then located within a semi-rigid carton. Because of the flexible nature of the pouch and, in some cases, the delicate nature of the product which is located within the pouch, it is not possible to utilize the pouch as a mandrel about which a wrap-around carton may be formed. For this reason, the practice in the formation of this type of carton is to pre-form the carton to a sleeve-like configuration, open the carton from its knocked down configuration in a loading machine, and thereafter end load the pouch into the carton and seal the ends of the carton. Difficulty is encountered in the end loading operation where the products are ofa delicate nature because of difficulties experienced in attempting to push the flexible carton into the relatively rigid confines of the sleeve-shaped carton.  
 SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention overcomes the difficulties of the prior art discussed above and provides a method and apparatus for forming a loaded shipper package which consists of an article to be shipped and a container formed from a wrap-around carton blank.  
  According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming a loaded wrap-around shipper package which consists of an article to be shipped and a container formed from a wrap-around blank comprises the steps of depositing the article to be shipped on a receiver member which is movable in a predetermined path of travel, locating an open wraparound carton blank in the path of travel of the receiver member, moving the loaded receiver member into engagement with a carton blank and wrapping the carton blank around the receiver member with the article therein to form a sleeve which is open at at least one end, and withdrawing the receiver from the sleeveshaped container through the open end and thereafter closing said container.  
  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the receiver member is inverted after the wrap-around carton is formed so as to discharge the article onto a wall of the container to facilitate removal of the re- PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention will be more clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings wherein:  
  FIG. I is a pictorial illustration of the method and apparatus for use in forming a loaded shipper package from a wrap-around carton blank; and  
  FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the path of travel of the article receiving trays and the loaded shipper packages.  
  With reference to the drawings, it will be seen that a plurality of U-shaped trays 10 are moved in a continuous path 12 in which are provided a loading station 14, a wrapping station 16, and a tray withdrawal station 18. Each of the trays 10 consists of a base wall 20 and a pair of oppositely disposed side walls 22 which form a U-shaped tray which is open at both ends. The trays are mounted on support arms 24 which are mounted for movement on a continuous conveyor 26. A cam track 28 having the required contour of the path of travel 12 of the containers serves to control the movement of the containers within the path 12.  
  As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the apparatus also includes a loading device for loading pouches 30 or the like into the trays 10. The loading device which is located in a loading station consists ofa conveyor 32, a loading drum 34 and a gate 36. The drum 34 is preferably pcrforated at predetermined sections of its length and a vacuum is drawn in the interior of the drum so that the pouches 30 may be secured to the drum for rotation with the drum past the gate 36 when the gate 36 is opened and thereafter released from thedrum by releaving the vacuum so that the pouch 30 falls into the tray 10. The operation of the gate 36 and drum 34 is synchronized with the position of the tray in which the pouch is to be loaded so that the apparatus may run continuously. The gate 36 consists of a pair of flaps 38 pivotally mounted for rotation about an axle 40 so that as soon as one gate 38 opens the other gate 38 moves to a position preventing the passage of the next following pouch onto the drum until the spacing of the pouch with respect to thedrum is synchronized with respect to the position of the next tray 10.  
  A. plurality of knocked down wrap-around carton blanks 42 are located in a carton storage station 44. A dispenser is provided for dispensing a single carton blank 42 from the storage station 44 into a position disposed between the trays in the path of travel 12 of the trays 10. The dispenser may beof a conventional type including suction cup means 46 for separating the leading blank from the stack of blanks and a pair of transverse feed roller means 48 disposed one on either side of the blank for positioning the blank 42 between the on-coming trays.  
  The wrap-around paperboard blank consists of top and bottom panels 50, side wall panel 52, side wall flaps 54 and 56, end wall flaps 58 and 60, and end wall tabs 62 and 64.  
  Guide rails 66are disposed in the path of travel of the carton during the wrap-around forming and the flaps 54 are folded inwardly by means of a pair of finger members 68 mounted for rotation on shaft 70. It will be noted that while only one pair of guide rails is shown for simplicity in illustration, there are preferably two pairs arranged parallel to one another and disposed adjacent each end of the carton blank. The flap 56 is folded upwardly by means of a similar folding mechanism (not shown) and an adhesive, preferably in the form of a hot melt, is applied simultaneously to the outer surface of the flaps 54 of two adjacent cartons as they move continuously in the path of travel 12. The bead 74 of the adhesive is applied by means of a pair of dispenser heads 72. The dispenser heads 72 are carried by a frame generally identified by the reference numeral 76. The frame consists of a pair of stationary guide rails 78 which extend parallel to the path of travel of the containers during the application of the adhesive and a second pair of guide rails 80 which extend obliquely transverse of the path of travel of the containcrs during the application of adhesive. A slide member 82 on which dispenser heads 72 are supported is slidably mounted on the guide rails 80 and mounted with respect to the longitudinally extending rails 78 to permit movement of the slide 82 in the direction of the arrow A. This transverse oblique movement is timed so that the dispenser heads 72 traverse the full width of the flap 54 during travel of the carriage 82 along the rails 80. The end flaps of the cartons are closed by means of a kicker plate 88 which is mounted for rotation so as to close the leading and trailing tabs prior to application of adhesive by means of an adhesive applicator head 90. The top flap 60 and lower flap 58 are thereafter closed by means of a conventional plough bar (not shown).  
  In use. a package is fed into each of the trays 10 as the trays move continuously in the direction of the path 12. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the packages are loaded when the trays are in a position which is out of longitudinal alignment with the wrapping station and consequently the trays are moved in the direction of the arrow B while simultaneously moving in the direction of the arrow C so as to be aligned with the open blank 42. In use, the blanks 42 are dispensed into a position between adjacent loaded trays. In the event that a tray which is not loaded passes the loading station, there may be means provided for detecting the presence of an empty tray entering the wrapping station. The means may take the form of a weight detecting device, a light scanner or the like and will require the detection of an article within the tray prior to the dispensing of a carton blank into a position immediately in front of the tray to be wrapped. The advancing tray forces the carton blank into engagement with the plough rails 66 and these rails in turn form the carton to the shape of the tray. It will be noted that the proportions of the tray are such that it acts as a mandrel about which the carton may be formed. After the carton is wrapped and with the wall of the carton closing the open upper end of the tray, the direction of travel of the trays is reversed and the trays are inverted. This transfers the load or pouch 30 from a position wherein it is supported by the tray to a position wherein it is supported by the top wall 50. The side walls of the carton are then sealed to form an open ended sleeve by the application of an adhesive to the side wall flaps 54 and 56 as previously described. After the carton is formed to a sleeve configuration, the cartons continue to move in the direction of the arrow C under the influence of the tray and a supporting underlying conveyor 69 or the like, and the tray 10 is withdrawn in the direction of the arrow D, leaving the carton and the contents in position. In view of the fact that the pouch 30 is no longer supported by the tray 10, it is possible to withdraw the tray while leaving the pouch 30 within the carton. If necessary. an additional restraining finger mechanism (not shown) may be provided to ensure that the tray 10 may be removed from the carton without causing movement of the carton and its contents relative to the supporting conveyor. After the tray 10 has been fully withdrawn, its direction of travel is again reversed so that the tray is located in the open position underlying the loading mechanism to repeat the cycle described above. The container with its contents continues to the closing station wherein the end flaps and end tabs of the loaded cartons are folded over and sealed and the cartons are then discharged for shipping.  
  Various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, it is possible to withdraw the tray 10 from the sleeve formed carton without the necessity of inverting the tray prior to its withdrawal. A method wherein the tray is withdrawn from the sleeve formed carton without first being inverted would continue to have the advantage that the tray would act as a forming mandrel for the wrap-around carton which would protect a flexible pouch and its contents during the wrapping operation.  
  From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a simple and effective method and apparatus for loading delicate packages into cartons without requiring separate carton opening and loading operations.  
 What I claim as my invention is:  
  1. A method of forming a wrap-around shipper package which consists of an article to be shipped and a container formed from a wrap-around blank comprising the steps of:  
 a. depositing the article to be shipped on a receiver member movable in a predetermined continuous path of travel;  
 b. locating an open wrap-around carton blank in a position extending across the path of travel of said receiver member;  
 c. moving the loaded receiver member continuously along said path into engagement with the blank which is disposed across the path of travel of the receiver member and through said position thereby to bend the carton blank around the receiver member, and sealing the blank along transverse edges behind the moving receiver member to form a sleeve which is open at at least one transverse end while continuously moving the member along said path;  
 d. withdrawing said receiver member gradually from said sleeve through said open end while moving the receiver member along said path, and  
 e. closing said blank while still moving along said path to form a carton.  
  2. A method of forming a shipper package as claimed in claim 1 wherein the loaded receiver member, with a wall of the wrapped blank retaining the load therein, is inverted prior to withdrawal of said receiver member from said shipper package whereby the article to be shipped is carried by the carton prior to withdrawal of the receiver member.  
  3. A method of forming a loaded wrap-around shipper package as claimed in claim 1 wherein the receiver member has peripheral side edges conforming to the interior configuration of the carton when in the sleeve configuration whereby the receiver member forms a mandrel about which the blank is formed in use.  
  4. A method of forming a loaded wrap-around shipper package which consists of an article to be shipped and a container formed from a wrap-around blank comprising the steps of:  
 a. depositing the article to be shipped on a U-shaped tray having a base wall and a pair of upstanding side walls, said tray being open at at least one end;  
 b. moving said tray in a continuous predetermined path of travel, said path having a carton forming extent wherein the tray is movable in a direction normal to the plane of the side walls thereof and the path having a withdrawal extent wherein the tray is movable in a direction parallel to the plane of the side walls thereof;  
 c. locating an open wraparound carton blank in a position extending across the path of travel of said U-shaped tray in said first extent;  
 d. moving the loaded U-shaped tray continuously along said path into engagement with the carton blank located across the path of travel thereof and through said position thereby to bend the carton blank around the side and bottom walls of the U- shaped tray and the article contained therein, and sealing the blank along transverse edges behind the moving tray to form a sleeve which is open at at least one transverse end thereof while continuously moving the tray along said path;  
 e. withdrawing said U-shaped tray from said open end while continuously moving the tray along said path in said second extent; and  
 f. closing said carton while still moving along said path.  
  5. A method of forming a shipper package as claimed in claim 4 wherein the loaded tray, with a wall of the wrapped blank retaining the load therein, is inverted prior to withdrawal of said tray from said shipper package whereby the article to be shipped is carried by the carton prior to withdrawal of the tray.