Patent ID: 11919271
Assignee: EMMECI S.P.A.
Field: Textile and paper machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 17:
18. A production line for making a covered box, comprising:
a forming machine, configured to receive a cardboard box blank and to fold it to form the box, wherein the box blank includes a base, configured to define a base wall of the box and side panels, connected to the base and foldable to define longitudinal side walls and transverse side walls of the box, and wherein the forming machine includes a plurality of folders and a movement system configured to receive the box blank oriented horizontally and to move it along a vertical direction, wherein the folders are configured to interact with the side panels to fold them along the vertical direction;
a gluing unit, configured to receive a paper covering blank and to spread glue on the covering blank, wherein the covering blank includes a base, a plurality of panels connected to the base and a plurality of fold-over flaps connected to the panels;
a positioning device, configured to receive the box from the forming machine and the covering blank from the gluing unit and to position the box on the covering blank in such a way that the base wall of the box rests on the base of the covering blank;
a covering machine, configured receive the box coupled to the respective covering blank from the positioning device and to fold the covering blank into contact with the box in such a way as to cover the box,
wherein the movement system of the forming machine comprises a plurality of columns, extending along the vertical direction, and configured to abut against the base of the box blank received in the forming machine, wherein the columns of the plurality of columns are movable along the vertical direction to push the box blank in the vertical direction,

wherein the positioning device includes:
a belt, configured to receive the covering blank from the gluing unit and to convey it along a feed direction,
a placing element, movable between a pickup position to receive the box and a placing position to place the box at a predetermined position on the covering blank being conveyed by the belt;
a control unit;
at least one camera, which is configured to capture an image of the covering blank located on the belt and which is connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to compare the image captured by the camera with a reference model previously stored and to instruct the placing element to modify the placing position of the placing element as a function of the comparison between the image captured by the camera and the reference image,
wherein the placing element includes a pushing element, operating on the inside surface of the base wall of the box and movable along the vertical direction, wherein the positioning device further comprises one or more strips, operating on the outside surface of the base wall of the box and movable from a closed configuration, where they are oriented horizontally to support the box, to an open configuration, where they are oriented vertically to enable the pushing element to move the box downwards to the placing position on the covering blank, wherein the positioning device further comprises one or more actuators, configured to move the one or more strips from the closed configuration to the open configuration and vice versa.