Material or article handling – Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into – within,... – Unstacking apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-04
2003-07-29
Krizek, Janice L. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...
Unstacking apparatus
C414S788700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06599081
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the priority of German patent application Ser. No. 199 04 443.0 filed Feb. 4, 1999. The disclosure of the above-referenced German patent application, as well as that of each US and foreign patent and patent application mentioned in the specification of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for supplying blanks to a packing machine, e.g., a machine wherein the blanks are converted into containers for separately produced and/or assembled commodities and wherein the filled containers are or can be sealed prior to transport to storage or directly to the consumers.
It is customary or necessary to produce blanks (e.g., cardboard blanks which can be converted into boxes of any desired size and/or shape) at a location remote from the machine or machines wherein the boxes are filled with certain types of commodities, e.g., with cigarette packs or with so-called cartons containing arrays of cigarette packs. It is advisable to collapse preassembled boxes into flat blanks having two or more overlapping panels to thus simplify the transport of collapsed boxes from the maker of boxes to the consuming or processing (e.g., a packing) machine. As a rule, the processing machine is provided with a magazine for continuously or intermittently supplied collapsed blanks as well, as with suitable means for removing collapsed blanks from the magazine, for erecting or expanding the removed blanks, and for filling the thus obtained empty containers with arrays of commodities.
A method of and an apparatus for supplying blanks in the form of collapsed boxes are disclosed, for example, in published German patent application Serial No. 38 05 974 A 1. The apparatus which is described in the German publication employs a pallet which receives a stack of superimposed flat or substantially flat horizontal blanks from a maker of blanks and cooperates with a tilting conveyor serving to lift successive topmost blanks off the stack and being set up to move the thus removed blanks from a horizontal plane into an at least substantially vertical plane. The thus tilted or pivoted blanks are introduced into the magazine of the packing machine.
Published German patent application Serial No. 42 10 812A 1 discloses a box filling machine which employs a transfer unit serving to lift successive topmost horizontal blanks off a stack of such blanks on a pallet and to introduce the thus lifted horizontal blanks directly into that unit of the packing machine which is designed to convert a blank in the form of a collapsed box into an erected or expanded box ready to receive an array of commodities, e.g., cartons containing predetermined numbers of cigarette packets. The transfer unit of the just described apparatus employs (or can employ) a suction-operated blank lifting and advancing conveyor.
A drawback of presently known methods and apparatus of the above outlined character is that a substantial number of blanks which reach the packing machine enter the machine in an orientation which departs from an optimum or predetermined orientation. This can create numerous problems such as the conversion or erection of misoriented collapsed blanks into unsatisfactory receptacles incapable of receiving predetermined arrays of cigarette packs or other commodities. Moreover, a misoriented blank is apt to come to a halt in a position in which it blocks the path for advancement of next-following (properly oriented) blanks. This can necessitate a temporary slowdown or full stoppage of an entire production line, e.g., a production line employing a plain cigarette maker, a filter rod making machine, a filter tipping machine, a carton filling machine, a carton wrapping machine, and a boxing machine wherein groups of wrapped cartons are to be introduced into erected blanks such as cardboard boxes.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which ensures that a machine for introducing commodities into boxes constituting prefabricated and subsequently expanded or erected blanks invariably receives blanks the orientation of which at least approximates an ideal or optimum orientation.
Another object of the invention is to reduce the number of rejects in a production line employing one or more packing machines designed to introduce arrays of commodities into boxes or analogous receptacles constituting converted blanks of cardboard or the like.
A further object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with novel and improved means for manipulating properly oriented as well as misoriented blanks in a path between a maker of blanks and a packing machine serving to convert the blanks into receptacles and to fill the thus obtained receptacles.
An additional object of the invention is to provide novel and improved means for transporting blanks which constitute collapsed boxes or analogous receptacles.
Still another object of the invention is to provide the improved apparatus with means for building stacks, piles or analogous accumulations of properly oriented blanks made of cardboard or the like.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of correcting the orientation of misoriented blanks and/or of preventing misorientation of blanks which are being supplied to a packing machine.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of supplying to a consumer short or long series of successive blanks in such a way that each blank which reaches the consumer is compelled to assume a desired orientation or to maintain such orientation at the locus of entry into the consumer.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a method which renders it possible to position the maker of blanks at any desired practical distance from the user of blanks, e.g., in a plant wherein rod-shaped smokers products are packed, the packets cartoned, and the cartons boxed for storage and/or for transport to consumers.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method which renders it possible to treat gently collapsed cardboard boxes on their way from a maker or another source of blanks and all the way to the station where the blanks are put to use.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of accumulating stacks of superimposed blanks wherein each and every blank is in a position of full overlap with the neighboring blank or blanks.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for the practice of the above outlined method.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can be installed in existing production lines for the making, testing, assembling and packing products of the tobacco processing industry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a method of supplying blanks to a packing machine (e.g., to a machine known as CP 90 case packer and distributed by the assignee of the present application) in a predetermined orientation. The method comprises the steps of establishing a path for the transport of blanks from a source (such source can comprise one or more stacks or piles of superimposed blanks) to the packing machine, advancing the blanks from the source to the packing machine along the path, and changing the orientation of the blanks when such orientation of blanks in the path departs from the predetermined orientation.
The blanks can constitute at least substantially flat collapsed bodies (e.g., collapsed boxes made of a material having or resembling the characteristics of cardboard). As already mentioned hereinbefore, such collapsible boxes can be utilized to receive and confine so-called cartons each of which contains an array of cigarette packets of the type known as soft or hinged-lid packets). For example, each box can be dimensioned to receive five neighboring stacks of five cartons each, and each carton can contain two layers of five cigarette packets
Blidung Otto
Kitzing Walter
Klingebiel Karl-Heinz
Anderson Chad C.
Hauni Maschinenbau AG
Kinberg Robert
Krizek Janice L.
Venable LLP
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