PACKAGING MACHINE

Abstract: A packaging machine for automatically packaging articles (F) into an expanded Honeycomb (170) and subsequently into a container (52) which includes mechanisms (174, 180, 182, 192, 194) for providing a Honeycomb structure (170) in an expanded condition in a loading station (70). The articles (F) to be package are picked up from an article supply (56), dropped into an expanded Honeycomb structure (170) and the articles and Honeycomb are subsequently dropped into a container (52). A separator sheet (78) is then deposited on top of the layer of articles (F) in the container (52). This is automatically done on a repeat basis until the container (52) is filled, after which the container is automatically moved out of the station (70) and a new container (52) is moved into place.

Description: PACKAGING .MACHINE This invention relates to a machine for automatically packaging articles such as fruit within separate compartments in larger containers for damage free handling during shipping. By packaging in this manner the fruit can be shipped great distances without damage. In the particular embodiment to be described and illustrated the machine will be employed in the packaging of grapefruit but it is obvious that this is but one of the various types of items that can be packaged by using the novel machine disclosed and covered herein. As is obvious when packaging fruit it would be desirable to maintain the fruit out of contact with each other so that during shipping they will not be abraded and seriously damaged by virtue of constant rubbing against each other. When fruit is shipped over large distances the fruit are rubbed against each other literally thousands of times which has resulted in substantial losses. Typical packaging operations currently being employed pack fruits at random in a container after which the container is sealed and transported from where it is grown to the consumer. Whatever the distance travelled from orchard to consumer, whether it be dozens of miles or thousands of miles, the fruit does become damaged to some extent and in some instances the loss rate ran as high as 10, 20 and even 30 percent which is obviously very disadvanta- geous from a cost standpoint. Fruit has been packaged in trays which of course is better than loose packing but tray packaging does not avoid the rubbing occurring between adjacent layers which causes significant damage. It is obvious that any method and apparatus capable of economically, efficiently and automati¬ cally packaging fruit while maintaining the fruit completely separate from each other would be very desirable. Such an arrangement prevents the substantial damage that inevitably occurs when boxes of fruit are subjected to the abrading they receive when the boxes are shaken during transport. It has long been recognized that if fruit were packaged in a manner such that they are totally separated from adjacent fruit by the utilization of honeycomb material that it would be highly advanta¬ geous. Honeycomb has been used for packaging but the use of such material has essentially been as part of a manual operation and this has been a slow and very costly procedure. Essentially this type of packing has been accomplished by manually expanding the honeycomb material and holding the honeycomb in an expanded position while the fruit is manually inserted. The industry has long been looking for a fully automatic, damage preventing, packaging system that is low in cost, operates at a high speed, and is relatively simple in design. The desired aim is to provide total internal protection for the product being packaged. That is to say, the article must be protected from pressures that would act to bruise or crush the product. A machine that can automatically package products in honeycomb capsules at low cost, high speed and efficient manner would be the answer to the industry's needs. The advantage of using honeycomb material is that it provides a very strong configuration and has a very high strength to weight ratio compared to other products on the market. The high column strength of honeycomb results in the loads carried by the honeycomb material being distributed. over a . series of braced columns. It is this inherent structural geometry that makes honeycombs such desired material for use in packaging. The cells of the honeycomb material act to isolate the articles disposed therein from adjacent articles. In the instant application the honeycomb material is made up of a relatively high density Kraft paper, but it can, of course, be made of recycled paper, plastic, or other suitable materials. The present invention is capable of meeting the industry's needs in that it will automatically serve to load a box with multiple layers of fruit wherein each of the fruits will be encapsulated in its own cell and fully protected from damage by contact with other fruits in the container. To this end, a layer of fruit is placed into cells of expanded honeycomb and the layer is then placed in a container. After a first layer is placed in a container a separator sheet is placed on top of the layer of fruit and thereafter subsequent layers of fruit disposed in expanded honeycomb and separator sheets are inserted until the box is filled. This way of stacking and packing within a container results in a total encapsulation of the articles being packaged. Thus it prevents crushing damage from above and permits greater stacking height while substantially eliminating the possibility of damaging fruit contained in the bottom boxes of a stack of same. Generally speaking, the following action takes place, although not necessarily in the sequence referred to. The following description is just intended to provide a narrative description of the operation that takes place. Specific details of the various components of the machine and the operations thereof will be set forth in a later description when discussing the drawings illustrating the invention. The fruit to be boxed in placed in rows on a conveyor. A prescribed number of fruit in each row is directed and maintained in an end section of the conveyor. In the illustrated embodiment there are three adjacent rows of grapefruit with the outside rows having four units and the middle row three units. The rows are separated by a retractable plate assembly which is in line with separation plates on the main part of the conveyor. The retractable plates are subsequently moved out of the spaces between adjacent rows and the side plates provided to confine the outside rows in alignment are moved toward each other to form the fruit into a nested relationship. The obtaining of the prescribed nested relationship is further facilitated by stop mecha¬ nisms which segregate the rows from the fruit on the main conveyor and determine the number of fruit in each row. After the prescribed quantity of fruit (in this case 11) is placed in the nested position at the end of the fruit infeed conveyor an article control- ling vacuum housing assembly containing at the bottom thereof gripping cups is directed over the nested fruit and subsequently moved down into contact with the fruit. When the housing assembly is moved into contact with the fruit a suction is drawn through the vacuum box forming part of the housing assembly which results in the fruit being held in place in the gripping cups and thus the housing assembly can remove it from the conveyor. During the time that the fruit is taken from the conveyor for packaging a section of honeycomb material is expanded into a CI-.F honeycomb structural separator and placed in an ■ expander tray which is positioned to be below the fruit held by the housing assembly at the loading station to receive them when the housing assembly is moved back into the loading station. The formation of the expanded honeycomb will now be described. The honeycomb section for receiving the fruit is taken from a supply of compressed honeycomb and placed into an expander tray. The honeycomb is expanded in the expander tray to open the cells for receiving the fruit. The expander tray is then moved into position to be located beneath the housing assembly to receive the fruit when the housing assembly moves transversely from the conveyor to a position above the expander tray. The housing assembly moves the fruit down into the expanded honeycomb sections while still maintaining the fruit thereon. .Due to the friction fit between the fruit and the honeycomb cells when the housing assembly is moved upwardly away from the expander tray it will carry the fruit and honeycomb material with it. The expander tray is then moved out of position below the housing assembly back to where it will receive another section of honeycomb to be expanded. While this occurs the housing assembly is free to and will then be moved downwardly into a container disposed immediately therebelow. Following the placing of a row of fruit into a container the housing assembly is moved up and back to the conveyor to where it will again pick up another layer of fruit. During this movement of the housing assembly a separator sheet is picked up from a stack of separator sheets and moved over into position above the container and subsequently moved -^ ΈΈX^ down into the container above the layer of fruit previously placed there. The cycle will then start again until a prescribed number of layers of fruit is placed in the container after which the container is moved away and another container is placed in position. It is to be noted that mechanism is provided to retain the container in the proper position below the housing assembly to receive the layers of fruit. Various embodiments of the invention will now be seen by referring to the attached drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the various components of the novel packaging machine; Figure 2 is a plan view of the machine in Fig. 1 with sections partially broken away of the machine illustrating the relationship between the conveyor, housing assembly and other mechanisms of the machine; Figure 3 is a side elevation taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the fruit infeed conveyor mechanism showing the fruit in spaced rows; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the spacing plates located between the rows removed; Figure 6 is a plan view in perspective similar to Figure 5 but showing the fruit being compressed into a nested position after which it is to be picked up from the conveyor by the housing assembly; Figure 7 is a side elevational view showing the housing assembly in gripping contact with the fruit prior to removal of the fruit from the conveyor; O ?I Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 and shows the fruit being removed from the conveyor by the housing assembly; Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the . 5 housing assembly disposing the fruit in expanded honeycomb located in an expander tray; Figure 10 is a side elevation view, partially broken away showing the expander tray with the expanded honeycomb therein in position below the 10 . housing assembly just prior to the fruit being inserted; Figure 11 is similar to Fig. 10 and illustrates the fruit being disposed in the expander tray within the honeycomb sections; 15 Figure 12 is a side elevation view illus¬ trating the housing being moved vertically to remove the fruit and honeycomb material from the expander tray; Figure 13 shows a guillotine assembly for 20 cutting sections of compressed honeycomb from a stack thereof to be expanded in the expander tray; Figure 14 is a perspective plan view partially broken away showing the various mechanisms employed in expanding the honeycomb in the expander 25 tray; Figure 15 shows the expander tray that has just received the compressed honeycomb prior to the expanding of the honeycomb; Figure 16 is a view ' similar to Figure 15 30 showing the honeycomb in the expanded condition; Figure 17 is a perspective view showing the mechanism for controlling the flow of air relative to the vacuum housing assembly; Figures 18 and 19 are views showing two 35 positions of the valve mechanism for controlling the flow of air to the vacuum housing assembly; Figure 20 is a side elevational view showing the housing assembly about to deposit a row of fruit in the expanded honeycomb within a container; Figure 21 is a view similar to Figure 20 showing the layer of fruit disposed within the container; Figure 22 is a schematic perspective view showing the container in position to receive a separator sheet from a stack disposed adjacent the container; Figure 23 shows a container wherein the separator sheet is being placed into position above a layer of fruit; Figure 24 is a view showing the frame for the container being removed therefrom after the container has been leaded to permit the container to be removed; Figure 25 is a view showing a holder mechanism for the fruit; Figure 26 is a view showing a fruit being disposed in position in the container within its holder; and Figure 27 illustrates a circuit diagram illustrating in schematic form the operation and timing sequence of various components of the machine. Before describing the apparatus in any substantial detail, it is felt that it would be desirable to describe the series of steps that take place in the operation of the novel packaging machine in conjunction with the general description of the major components contained in the machine. With this understanding, the later description of the specific mechanisms of the machine will be better understood. Figure 1 is an overall perspective of the O...FI packaging machine 50 illustrating the direction of movement of the boxes or containers 52 to be filled on a conveyor assembly 54 passing through the machine. The fruit loading conveyor assembly 56 moves fruit F into a prescribed nested position to be picked up by the article controlling vacuum housing assembly 60 which is part of the transversely movable major frame assemblage 62. Within the major frame assemblage 62 housing assembly 60 is vertically movable to effectuate pick-up and deposition of the fruit into expanded honeycomb and subsequently into a container 52. In the position shown in Figure 1 the housing assembly 60 is disposed transversely spaced from the conveyor 56 on which the fruit is disposed and is shown mounted on guide rails 66 to facilitate movement into position above the fruit loading conveyor 56 and back to the position shown in Figure 1. After fruit is picked up from the fruit conveyor assembly 56 and returned to the loading station 70 above the container 52 the fruit is placed into an expanded honeycomb material located in an expander tray 74 (see Fig. 2) . The fruit and honeycomb material is lifted from the expander tray assembly 74, the tray is removed and the layer of fruit is placed into the container 52. After the first row of fruit is placed in the container 52 and the housing assembly 60 raised, the frame assemblage 62 is moved to enable the housing assembly to pick up another layer of fruit. When this occurs a separator sheet assembly 76 removes a separator sheet 78 from a stack of sheets 80 and placed on top of the layer of fruit that has been deposited in the container. With honeycomb material having a greater height than the fruit being received the fruit is fully encap- sulated. Subsequent layers of fruit are placed in OMFI the container until it is full. The schematic plan view shown in Figure 2 illustrates the orientation of the fruit conveyor assembly 56, the article controlling vacuum housing assembly 60, the separator sheet assembly 76, the supply of unexpanded honeycomb 84 and the expander tray 74 which is shown located in position with an expanded section of honeycomb. In Figure 3 there is shown a side elevation showing the orientation of the expander tray assembly 74 guillotine mechanism 86, housing assembly 60, container 52 and container control mechanism 90 for retaining the container in position during the loading operation. We will now turn to a description of the specific components of the various assemblies. Intake Fruit Conveyor Assembly Figs. 4-9 illustrate in schematic and side elevation views the apparatus and sequencing of the - fruit conveyor assembly 56 for orienting and nesting the fruit thereon so they can be picked up therefrom and properly located in expanded honeycomb material for subsequent deposition into a container. As previously briefly referred to in Figure 2 fruit is directed by the conveyor 94 (operated in a conventional manner) in rows 96a, 96b, and 96c between stationary plates 98 into an end section 100 - of the conveyor where it is located to the side of the loading station 70. The three rows of fruit move forwardly until the end ones thereof hit staggered stop mechanisms 102 which are combination switch and stop mechanisms. Contact with the stop mechanisms acts to stop the conveyor 94. These stops 102 are fixed in position relative to the main frame 103 supporting the conveyor (see Fig. 7) . When this occurs the fruit is in the position shown in Figure 4 wherein the fruit in the rows are staggered relative to each other with the intermediate row 96b being located between the fruit disposed in the rows 96a, 96c disposed outward therefrom. By way of example only the rows are staggered 4-3-4. When the end fruit in the rows contact the stop mechanisms the pivotally mounted cup arrangements 106 which are similarly oriented engage the end fruit in the rows leading to the end conveyor section 100 to hold back the fruit within the rows on the main portion of the conveyor. The cups 108 of the cup arrangement are mounted on a rod 110 and are moved between the positions shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 9 at the proper timing sequence by suitably provided mechanisms, not shown. As shown in Fig. 4 the rod 110 is mounted in supports 111 affixed to the frame 103 and the operation thereof is effected through a piston rod 112 of a cylinder assembly (not shown) and a link 113 connected to the rod 110. Located on the end section 100 of the conveyor are separating plates 114 which are mounted on a retractable frame structure 116 so that it can be moved out of the way as shown in Fig. 5. Suitable operating mechanism including a piston assembly connected to the main frame 103 moves the plates 114 between the positions shown in Figs. 4 and 5. When the plates 114 are retracted in the manner shown in Figure 5 the fruit are now in condition to be moved into the nested position shown in Figure 6. The nesting of the fruit is accomplished by moving the side plates 120 inwardly by the actuation of cylinders 122 located on opposite sides of the conveyor 94 which are suitably fixed in position relative to a bell crank mechanism 126 which are in turn secured to a frame structure (see Fig. 5). What is shown on one side of Fig. 5 is duplicated on the other side. The piston rods 124 extending therefrom are connected through bell crank mechanisms 126 to the side plates 120 which bell cranks when moved move the plates 120 toward each other to place the fruit into the nested position shown in Figure 6. In this prescribed nested position the fruit are accurately positioned relative to the honeycomb cells when they are subsequently deposited into the expanded honeycomb. As shown in Figure 6 the article controlling vacuum housing assembly 60 that is subsequently to be used to pick up the fruit is spaced from the fruit but is later moved to a position above the fruit as shown in dotted line and then dropped down thereto to the position shown in Figure 7. The housing assembly 60 is secured to the frame assemblage 62 which is transversely movable on guide rails 66 secured to frame 130 by the action of a suitably controlled piston assembly 132 (see Fig. 22) . The housing assembly 60 is vertically movable on rods 136 and is raised and lowered by the action of piston assembly 140 (see Fig. 1) . The housing assembly 60 contains a vacuum housing 142 which is energized by an air control mechanism to be described later to provide a vacuum in the housing with the result that the fruit will be retained in position in the suction cups 144 and will be carried with the housing assembly 60 when it is retracted. As will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter the cups 144 are arranged to pick up the fruit in their nested position and deposit them in the honeycomb cells. Referring now to Figure 8 it is seen that the housing assembly 60 has been lifted and carries therewith the fruit off of the conveyor 94 in the o_.:? prescribed nested position. When this occurs the switch portions of the stop-switch mechanisms are released with the result that the side plates 120 are retracted, the retractable frame structure 116 is returned to the space above the conveyor end section 100, the pivotally mounted cup arrangements 106 are raised and the conveyor 94 is restarted and fruit is again directed into position against the stops 102 so that the mechanisms are as illustrated in Fig. 9. Up to this juncture we have discussed the mechanism for taking the prescribed number of nested fruits and removing them from a conveyor and holding them in a position from where they can be subse¬ quently deposited into an expanded honeycomb and thereafter placed in a container. After lifting the fruit from the conveyor 94 the housing assembly is moved transversely by the piston assembly 132 into a position where it can deposit the fruit into an expanded honeycomb material located on an expander tray assembly 74. In order to provide an expanded honeycomb material in position to receive the fruit contained on the housing assembly we will now turn to Figs. 13-16. Honeycomb Supply In Figure 13 there is shown a tray 150 holding sections of compressed honeycomb 84. A precut section 154 of the honeycomb is forced out of the tray 150 by a guillotine knife 156 secured to a bracket 158 that is slidably mounted in a slot 160 of a frame plate 162. A cylinder assembly 164 also secured to the frame plate 162 includes an extending piston rod 166 that is connected to the bracket 158. In the proper sequence, which will be discussed later when describing the electrical circuitry, the rod 166 -fTTlE Tj- is lowered to move the knife 156 downwardly to force a section of compressed honeycomb 154 into the expander tray assembly 74. The compressed honeycomb section 154 has been preformed and cut to provide the desired configuration. Expander Tray Assembly The expander tray assembly 74 is designed to receive a section of compressed honeycomb 154 which honeycomb 170 is expanded in the expander tray assembly to provide the open cells 113 for receiving grapefruit. Details of the expander tray assembly are best seen by referring to Figures 14, 15, 16 in which Figure 14 shows the position of the various compo- nents of the exapnder tray when the components thereof are moved to expand a honeycomb section minus a honeycomb section. Figure 15 shows the compressed honeycomb section 154 located in position in the expander tray 174 and Figure 16 shows the compressed honeycomb in the expanded position. The expander tray 174 is suitably connected to a piston rod 176 on a cylinder assembly 178 which piston rod 176 when extended moves the expander tray from the position adjacent the loading station 70 where it expands a section of honeycomb into position beneath the housing assembly 60 for receiving fruit therefrom. The expander tray is slidably mounted on guide rods 179. The compressed honeycomb 154 is initially located in the expander tray 174 as shown in Figure 15 and is maintained in the position shown in Figure 15 by a plurality of suction cup assemblies 180, 182. These assemblies consist of a fixed plate 183 and rod 184 having located thereon two suction cups 186,188 which extend through a slot 189 in plate 183 C which in Figs. 15 and 16 abuts the right-hand end of the compressed honeycomb section 154 and a longi¬ tudinally movable plate 191 and rod 190 having two suction cup assemblies 192, 194, including suction cups 196, 198 which extend through slot 200 in plate 191 and engages the left-hand side of the honeycomb (Figs. 15 and 16) . Essentially, the left-hand rod 190 and plate 191 assembly is moved to the left to the position shown in Figure 16 to effectuate expansion of the compressed honeycomb into the open cell position. A pure linear movement of the suction cups will not attain the desired result, since, as can be appreciated, when the honeycomb is expanded (see Fig. 16) , its width is reduced and compensation must be made during this expansion process. To this end it is necessary that suction cups 186, 196 mounted opposite each other on the rods 184, 190, respec¬ tively, must be capable of inward movement during the expansion process. It remains to note before describing this rechanism that suction is provided • nd released fr _ the the cups in a conventional -anner and the c- ---ails of this are not important to -n understanding of the present invention. Also, the movement of the rod 190 to the left is accomplished in the illustrated embodiment by connecting the plate 191 to a piston rod 202 that is part of the cylinder assembly 204 (see Fig. 14). In the compressed condition of the honeycomb, the piston rod 202 extends outwardly to the right and when it is retracted by the cylinder assembly 204, it will act to move the plate 191 and rod 190 to the left (these directions relate to the perspective illustrated in Fig. 14) to expand the honeycomb to the configuration shown in Figure 16. The particular illustrated mechanism for effecting the proper movement of the movable cups 186, 196 located on the rods 184, 190, is shown in Figure 15. The cups 186, 196 are biased to their outermost position through the action of tension springs 205 that are connected between the fixed members 192a, 180a of the assemblies 192 and 180 respectively and the movable sections 192b and 180b respectively. In this manner the assemblies are biased to be positions shown in Fig. 15. When the honeycomb is expanded as shown in Fig. 16 the movement of honeycomb will carry with it the cups 186, 196 against the action of these relatively light springs. It is to be noted that light springs 206 are provided to permit minor reciprocating movement of all the cup assemblies to compensate for varia¬ tions in the honeycomb. Housing Assembly In order to effectuate the movement of the fruit off of the article controlling housing assembly and into the expanded honeycomb cells 170 after which the fruit and expanded honeycomb are removed from the tray 174 and dropped into a container it is necessary to understand the operation of and the mechanisms involved with the housing assembly 60 which is reciprocated and transversely moved to accomplish the desired results. The housing assembly 60 includes a vacuum housing 142 that is schematically illustrated in Figures 20 , 21 and 23 and is operated through the action of a cylinder assembly 140 which is shown in the upper middle portion of Figure 1. The operation of the cylinders to raise and lower the vacuum housing in the prescribed time sequence as well as transversely move the frame assemblage 62 and associated vacuum housing.60 relative to the fruit conveyor assembly will be described in detail when discussing the electrical circuitry, but for the purposes of this present explanation its operation will be described with reference to the switching mechanisms which bring about the prescribed vertical and transverse movement of the article controlling housing assembly and vacuum box housing at the prescribed times. Located on the frame structure of the machine shown in Fig. 1 are a motor, a compressor, blower assembly, and a vacuum pump which are not illustrated since their location and construction are conventional. The blower assembly 210 is shown in more detail in Figure 17 and in conjunction with the piston operated valve 212 shown in its two operative positions in Figures 18 and 19 acts to draw air through the vacuum housing 142 to retain the fruit in the cups 144 by the differential pressure acting thereon and to positively release the fruit from the cups by blowing air through the housing. The flow arrows in Figure 17 show the sucking action by the blower 210. The vacuum pump is for providing suction to the various suction cup assemblies used in conjunction with the separator sheets and expander tray and the compressor is for providing air under pressure for operating the various cylinders. The vacuum housing 142 has secured to its lower end the plurality of cups 144 equal to the number of grapefruit to be raised, which cups contact the grapefruit and lift them up to a raised position (see Figure 8) . In this condition the valve 212 is in the position shown in Figure 18 in which the inlet 214 to the blower 210 is connected to the housing 142 to suck' air through the housing and hold the fruit in place while the outlet 216 of the blower is connected to atmosphere. The fruit holding action results from the venturi effect created by the air flow around the fruit and through the cups 144 into the vacuum housing, which results in a positive differential pressure acting against the fruit to hold them in their respective cups while the vacuum housing is being raised. Also depending from the vacuum housing are sensors 220 for reasons which will be discussed hereinafter. Attention is now directed to Figs. 10-12 which show the operation of the vacuum housing to 1) deposit fruit in the honeycomb and 2) raise the fruit and honeycomb. After the fruit has been raised from the fruit conveyor assembly 54 it is moved over to the expander tray 174 at which time it is placed into the expanded honeycomb cells in the expander tray 174. When the sensor 220 hits the bottom of the tray the suction cup assemblies are actuated to release the honeycomb and the filled honeycomb is lifted up. The expander tray is then retracted and the fruit and associated honeycomb material is moved downwardly into the box container. When it reaches the proper location in the container, the sensor 220 is actuated which results in the valves 212 being moved to the position shown in Figure 19 in which the inlet to the blower is connected to atmosphere and the outlet is connected to the housing 142 which positively directs atmospheric air into the housing, thus eliminating the pressure differential across the cups 144 tending to hold the fruit therein and direct a positive air pressure against the fruit to release them from the vacuum housing. Figures 20 and 21 show the positioning of OH WIF the vacuum housing 142 relative to the container 52 after the expander tray has been removed but before the housing is moved downwardly into the container. Figure 21 shows the cylinder being extended to position the vacuum housing into the container at which time the sensor 220 hits the bottom of the container and results in the action previously mentioned with air being directed against the fruit to leave the fruit and expander fruit and honeycomb material disposed in the container. The actuation of the sensor 220 further results in reactivation of the cylinder 140 which retracts the vacuum housing to the full upright position. When the housing has been returned to the upright position the major frame assemblage 62 is moved to the left to pick up more fruit as shown in Figure 22 at which time a separator sheet 78 is introduced into the container in the following manner. Separator Sheet Assembly The separator sheets 78 that are provided separate the layers of filled expanded honeycomb. The sheets are located in a stack 80 disposed above the box conveyor assembly 54. As illustrated in Figs, 2 and 22 the separator sheets are individually raised by four suction cups 224 that are connected to a platen 226. The platen is connected to the end of arms slidably supported by the main frame assemblage 62. The rods are operated by cylinders not illus¬ trated. Suction is provided to the cups in a conventional manner, not shown. The cylinders are operated in the desired sequence so that the cups 224 act to grip the top separator sheet 78 and lift it into the raised position so that when the vacuum housing is moved transversely to pick up another group of fruit the sheet is moved into position over the open container and at that time the platen is moved to drop into the container and when it is located in position a suitably disposed sensing mechanism 228 will act to release the suction so that the separator sheet will be located within the container when the housing withdraws. There remains to discuss the mechanism for retaining the box in position at the loading station in the manner shown in Figures 1-3. Referring to the lower portion of Figure 3, there is shown a bracket mechanism 230 that has a funnel-shaped frame section 232 which has depending therefrom a plurality of contacting members 234. The bracket assembly 230 has end portions 236 that are slidably disposed on a fixed rod member 238. A piston assembly 240 is operable to move the assembly 230 up and down between the positions shown in Figures 3 and 24. Accordingly when the box has been placed in position at the loading station the mechanism is lowered into contact with the box to retain it in position during the loading operation. For illustrative purposes. Figures 25 and 26 show the construction of the cup assemblies 144 secured to the vacuum housing 142. These cups are mounted on tubular member 145 and are spring-biased by spring 146 against a depending flange portion 147. It can be seen by referring to Figure 26 that when a fruit is in place on the cup, the cup 144 is partially extended and is moved upwardly against the action of the spring 146. Referring now to Figure 27, the electrical control system will now be explained in greater detail. Figure 27 shows part of the electrical control system of the instant invention. Each of the lines is referenced by a line number shown in the c: right-hand margin of the Figure. The relays and limit switches (LSs) , are shown in their normal switching or operating condition when the carriage (previously referred to . as frame assemblage) is in its extreme rear position. In this discussion the term "rear position" is when the housing assembly 60 is located in the loading station over the box to be filled. The "front position" is when the housing assembly is over the fruit conveyor. Limit switch 4 in line 1 is a fruit platen (previously referred to as article controlling vacuum housing assembly 60) safety switch, normally closed, but which opens when the fruit platen is in a lower position, to disallow the carriage to move between front and rear positions when the fruit platen is lowered. Limit switch 8 in line 1 is a separator platen safety switch, normally closed, which disallows the carriage to move trasversely when the separator platen is in the lower position, and operates similarly to limit switch 4. The cross-over relay contacts shown in lines 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 are shown in the position, i.e., either normally open or normally closed, that they assume when the carriage has reached the extreme rear starting position. These contacts remain in this position until the carriage reaches the extreme forward position, whereupon all of the relay contacts are reversed, in response to a cross-over relay sensitive to carriage front and rearward movement, which is not shown in Figure 27. This cross-over relay arrangement allows certain operations to occur or not occur depending upon whether the carriage is about to move in a forward position or about to move in a rearward position. As shown, the cross-over relay contacts in line 1, line 4, line 7 and line 10 are shown in the normally closed position which allow the valves connected in those lines to operate in response to other control signals or relay contacts, but since the cross-over relay contacts in lines 2, 6 and 8 are open, the valve switching functions in these respective lines will not occur since these relay contacts will continue to remain open until the carriage reaches the frontmost position and reverses the condition of these contacts. The separator vacuum relay contacts in lines 1 and 8 are shown in the normally closed position, and are reponsive to the carriage being in the loading position, so that the separator vacuum valve 14 in line 8 can be turned off only at the proper time. Momentary contact switches 5 in line 2 and 9 in line 1 are closed when the fruit platen and separator platen respectively are in the extreme raised position, so that the carriage trasverse system will allow the carriage to move frontward and rearward only when the fruit and separator platens are so raised. Limit switch 1 in line 3 closes in response to the carriage transverse system being positioned the loading position. Limit switch 20 has contacts in lines 1 and 6 which are normally closed and contacts in line 10 which are normally open and remain in that normal - position until the expander tray is beneath the fruit platen, whereupon their respective contacts reverse, thereby disallowing certain functions to occur, such as the carriage to move frontward or rearward, or the separator platen to go downward, or the fruit suction valves to go off. Proximity relays contacts on line 9 are normally open when the fruit platen is in the upward position, but close when the fruit platen is in the extreme lower position, in response to the sensing mechanism 220 sensing that the fruit platen should cease its downward movement. Proceeding now is a description of the sequence of the carriage, respective platens, and the suction operations. As described above, the cross-over relay contacts in lines 1, 4, 7 and 10 are normally closed when the carriage is in the rearwardmost position. When the fruit platen is in the exteme up position, momentary switch 9 closes in line 1 and the carriage traverse system moves to the extreme forward position. Fruit is received in rows being moved by a conveyor with the retractable row separation plates in place to align the fruit into rows. When the desired quantity of fruit is received beneath the fruit platen, a limit switch, not shown in Figure 27, closes and the fruit conveyor stops. Also in response to this limit switch, staggered stop mechanisms 102 restrict the movement of additional fruit from the fruit supply from reaching the end section of the conveyor beneath the fruit platen. The fruit is now ready to be nested, and also in response to this same . limit switch associated with the staggered stop mechanisms 102, row separation plates 114 are retracted so that there is no separation between the rows of fruit. Side plates 120 then move inward to nest the fruit into an arrangement described above. Referring now to line 4 in Figure 27, the contacts of limit switch 3 will normally be closed at this time in response to the carriage being in the IfϋEEXtT * -- frontmost position. However if the limit switch contacts 3 have yet failed to close, the contacts of limit switch 13 (line 5) will close in response to the fruit being properly nested and being ready to be picked up. Thus, the switching of valve 2 (line 4) will cause the fruit platen to start its downward movement. At the same time valve member 4 in line 5 will be energized and the fruit suction cups will be ■ supplied with vacuum. When the fruit platen reaches a low position on its downward movement, so that the cups fully receive the fruit, sensing mechanism 220 will cause the proximity relay contacts in line 9 to close. The timer relay contacts in line 9 will be closed and after a certain time delay (provided by the delay timer in line 9) , the fruit platen will begin its upward movement, since at that time valve 2 (line 9) will be switched. The delay timer provides for complete reception and vacuum holding of the fruit in each respective associated cup before the fruit platen begins its upward movement. Otherwise, an immediate upward movement of the fruit platen might result in some of the fruit not being fully received and held in the associated cup. At this time, the suction remains, i.e., suction-off valve switch 4 (line 10) is not energized because limit switch 20 contacts in line 10 are not closed. As described above, these contacts close only when the fruit platen is positioned to deposit the fruit. When the fruit platen obtains its uppermost raised position, limit switch 4 (line 1) closes and limit switch 9 (line 1) also closes. Also at this time, cross-over relay causes all of its associated contacts to reverse, so that the contacts in lines 2, 6 and 8 are connected or closed but the contacts in lines 1, 4, 7 and 10 assume an open position. Since the cross-over relay contacts in line 2 are connected, valve 3 (line 2) is energized and the carriage proceeds to move traversely to the rear position. Upon reaching the rear position, limit switch 1 contacts (line 3) close and the expander tray 74 is provided a honeycomb section immediately beneath the fruit platen. When the honeycomb is exapnded and positioned to receive the fruit, valve 2 (line 4) is switched so that the fruit platen moves downward. When the fruit platen reaches a lower position, sensing mechanism 220 causes the proximate relay contacts (line 9) to close. The delay timer will then cause the fruit platen to remain in this lower position for a specified time to insure that the honeycomb is fully received by the fruit. After this specified time delay period, valve 2 (line 9) • switches so that the fruit platen will then begin its upward movement with the honeycomb attached. When the fruit platen reaches its upwardmost raised position, limit switch 5 (line 2) closes. The expander tray valve (line 3) switches and the expander tray returns to its retracted position out from beneath the fruit platen. The fruit platen then begins a downward movement, and lowers the fruit and attached honeycomb into the shipping box displaced beneath the carriage assembly. When the fruit platen reaches a position so that the fruit is fully received in the box, sensing mechanism 220 causes the proximate relay contacts (line 9) to close. Limit switch 20 contacts (line 10) close and valve 4 (line 10) opens so that the suction on the fruit terminates, allowing the fruit and honeycomb to remain in the box. The delay timer (line 9) prevents valve 2 (line 9) from raising the fruit platen until the specified time period dictated by the delay timer elapses. At that time, the fruit platen begins its upward movement until it reaches an uppermost raised position, whereupon momentary switch 9 (line 1) closes. The cross-over relay contacts are again reversed to their normal closed position, and the carriage then moves forward to the fruit supply station. Concurrently with the operation just described wherein the fruit is picked up by the fruit platen and deposited in the box, a separator platen receives separator sheets 78 from a sheet stack 80 by suction cup assemblies 224 and deposits them in the box. The downward movement of the separator platen is controlled by switching of valve 5 (line 6) and the upward movement of the separator platen is controlled by reverse switching of valve 5 (line 7) . The separator platen experiences upward and downward movement concurrently with the fruit platen. However, when the fruit platen is being loaded with fruit, the separator platen is depositing a separator sheet, and when the fruit platen is depositing fruit in the box, a separator platen is being supplied with a separator sheet. The separator platen has a separator vacuum controlled by a valve switch in line 14 and another switch not shown in Fig. 27 and works similarly to the fruit platen suction valve in lines 5 and 10. The aforementioned sequence of steps occurs until the requisite layers of fruit are placed in the box, after which the box guide means is withdrawn from the box and the box is moved by the conveyor out of the loading station and another box is moved therein. O- Method of Operation Before starting the loading operation, a container 52 is moved into position in a loading station by the conveyor 54 to receive separate layers of fruit. When the box is in the loading station, the bracket mechanism is lowered to retain the box in the proper position. The method of operation of this novel packaging machine is as follows. The fruit F is disposed in rows 96A, B and C, and is moved by the conveyor 94 into position against the staggered stop mechanisms 102. When this occurs, the conveyor is stopped and the cup assemblies 106 are engaged to restrict the movement of additional fruit into the end section 100 of the conveyor. The retractable frame structure 116 is retracted carrying with it the separating plates 114, so that there is no separation between the rows of fruit. Since the rows are staggered after the retractable frame is removed inward movement of the side plates 120 moves the fruit into a nested position to be picked up and disposed in the expanded honeycomb. The article controlling vacuum housing assembly 60 is then moved into position above the fruit and dropped downwardly thereon to grip the fruit and remove it from the conveyor end section. Gripping occurs by the action of introducing a vacuum into the housing, with the result that the fruit will be disposed in the cups connected to the vacuum housing and retained therein. Following this, the housing is raised to remove the fruit from the conveyor and the major frame assemblage 62 on which the housing is located is moved transversely to move the housing into the loading station where the container is to be loaded. Adjacent to the loading station a section of honeycomb is cut from the honeycomb supply and directed into the expander tray assembly 74. With the compressed honeycomb in the expander tray, suction cup assemblies 180, 182, 192, 194 are energized to grip the compressed honeycomb and thereafter the cup assemblies 192, 194 are moved to expand the honeycomb into a condition to receive the fruit. After this occurs, the expander tray is moved into the loading station beneath the housing assembly for receiving the fruit therefrom. With the expander tray disposed below the housing containing the fruit, the housing and fruit are lowered into the expander tray until the fruit are deposited in the cells of the honeycomb. When a sensing mechanism engages the bottom of the expander tray the vacuum housing is retracted to withdraw the fruit and expanded honeycomb out of the expander tray. The expander tray is then moved out of the loading station and the housing is moved downwardly to deposit the fruit and honeycomb into the box 52. After the fruit has been deposited therein, the vacuum housing is retracted. With the vacuum housing in the upward position, the major frame assemblage 62 is moved transversely to pick up another quantity of fruit. When the assembly is moved in this fashion, a separator sheet 78 is picked up from the sheet stack 80 by suction cup assemblies 224. When the housing 60 is disposed over ' the fruit conveyor to pick up another quantity thereof, a piston is actuated to place the separator sheet on top of the layer of fruit in the box and then withdrawn therefrom. The aforementioned sequence of steps occurs until the requisite layers of fruit are placed in the box, after which the box guide means is withdrawn from the box and the box is moved by the conveyor out of the O loading station and another box is moved therein. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications and embodiments that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. c:..Fi

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A machine for automatically packaging articles into an expanded honeycomb and into a container comprising means for locating a container at a loading station of the packaging machine to be filled and moving the container out of the loading station after it has been filled, means for disposing a prescribed number of articles to be packaged in a nested relationship in position adjacent said loading station, an article controlling housing assembly, means for automatically providing at said loading station below said housing assembly a honeycomb expander tray on which is located an open honeycomb section for receiving articles and for removing the tray after the loaded honeycomb section has been removed therefrom, means for moving the housing assembly in and out of the loading station of the packaging machine and for lifting the prescribed nested articles from their position adjacent the loading station, depositing them in said open honeycomb in the expander tray, lifting the honeycomb and articles out of the expander tray and then depositing the articles and honeycomb in a container. 2. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 1 including means for providing a separator sheet on top of a layer of articles disposed in said container. 3. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 1 in which the means for disposing a prescribed number of articles in a nested relationship adjacent to said loading station includes a conveyor means for disposing the articles adjacent said loading station and mechanisms to dispose the articles in a nested position so that a prescribed number of articles are in position to be properly packaged. OM 4. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 3 in which the articles are placed in a staggered relationship by initially providing means for separating said rows and adjustable side plates and means for removing the row separators and move said side plates to move the articles into a nested relationship. 5. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 4 in which the means for maintaining the articles in staggered rows include pivotally mounted cups disposed adjacent one end of the group of articles to be retained on and picked up from the conveyor and stop and switching mechanism adjacent the other end of the group of articles to be picked up from the conveyo . 6. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 2 in which the means for providing a separator sheet is disposed on the side of said housing assembly opposite to the position that the articles to be packaged are located and guide means for the housing assembly to provide for movement of said separator sheet assembly into position relative to the container when the housing assembly is moved into position to pick up a nested quantity of articles. 7. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 6 in which the means for providing a separator sheet into said container includes a suction cup assembly located adjacent the loading station, and means for operating said suction cup assembly to contact the upper sheet of a stack of separator sheets and subsequently dropping a sheet into said container on top of a layer of articles and honeycomb. 8. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 1 in which means are provided for moving the expander tray into and out of the loading station. o_.::ι said means for moving said expander tray into and out of the loading station, means for providing a compressed section of honeycomb in said expander tray when it is located outside of the loading station, and means for expanding the compressed section of honeycomb in the expander tray. 9. A packaging machine as set forth in accordance with claim 8 in which the means for providing a compressed section of honeycomb includes a honeycomb tray disposed adjacent the loading station and containing a plurality of sections of compressed honeycomb, and means for engaging a section of compressed honeycomb and depositing same into said expander tray. 10. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 9 in which the honeycomb gripping assemblys include a pair of rods disposed on opposite sides of the compressed honeycomb on which are located a plurality of suction cup assemblies, and means for resiliently biasing at least one of the suction cup assemblies located on each of said rods at an acute angle relative to the rods but permitting them to be moved toward a normal position relative to the rods during the expansion of the honeycomb to accommodate the reduction and width of the honeycomb during expansion thereof. 11. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the lifting and container loading assembly for raising the articles off the conveyor on which they are located, placing them in the expanded honeycomb, and raising the expanded honeycomb, and articles out of the expander tray, and subsequently depositing the articles, and expanded honeycomb into the container after the expander tray has been removed includes a vertically disposed housing O - assembly having article pickup means constructed and arranged to pick up the articles off the conveyor and deposit them in the container. 12. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 11 in which the housing assembly includes a vacuum housing having depending therefrom a plurality of cups constructed and arranged to engage the articles located on the conveyor, cylinder means for raising and lowering the housing assembly into and out of contact with said articles, means for providing a suction in said housing whereby when the cups engage the articles air acting to flow into the vacuum box will cause a pressure differential tending to hold the articles in position relative to the cups and for admitting atmospheric air to said vacuum box to release the articles from the cups when the filled honeycomb is deposited in the container being filled. 13. A packaging machine in accordance with claim 1 in which means are provided for sequentially loading a plurality of layers of said articles and separator sheets into a container. 14. A method of automatically packaging articles in a shipping container including the steps of disposing a predetermined number of articles in a nested condition at a first location, providing an expanded honeycomb section in a tray, moving an article controlling housing to pick up the articles from the first location, place it in the expanded honeycomb in the tray, pick up the articles and expanded honeycomb and deposit it as a unit into a container. 15. A method as set forth in claim 14 including the step of including a separator sheet on top of each of the units of articles and expanded honeycomb disposed in the container. 16. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein the steps of loading articles into the container include the steps of initially placing a predetermined quantity of articles in position adjacent the loading station, moving the articles into a nested position relative thereto prior to raising the articles from said first position and placing it into said expanded honeycomb. 17. A method as set forth in claim 14 in which the steps of providing an expanded honeycomb in the loading station consists of first depositing a compressed sheet of honeycomb into a tray disposed outside the loading station, expanding the honeycomb and retaining it in the expanded condition in the tray while moving the tray into the loading station. 18. A method as set forth in claim 14 in which the steps of raising the article from its first location, placing the articles into the expanded honeycomb, and then raising the articles and expanded honeycomb and depositing the articles, and expanded honeycomb into the container includes the steps of first gripping the articles to move them from its first location and moving the articles to a raised position, lowering the articles into the expanded honeycomb and then raising the articles and expanded honeycomb off of the tray in which it has been located and then removing the tray. 19. A method as set forth in claim 14 in which the articles are retained in position during its raising action by establishing a pressure differential through the flowing of air past the articles into a vacuum chamber and releasing the articles by venting the vacuum chamber to atmosphere. 20. A method as set forth in claim 14 including the steps of providing a plurality of layers of articles and separator sheets in the shipping container .

Inventors: BOOTH J
Applicants: INT HONEYCOMB CORP
Application year: 1981
Main classification: B65B5
IPC codes: B65B5, B65B25, B65B55