Method for and apparatus for cutting cardboard boxes

Abstract: A method of cutting a cardboard box 1 is disclosed. The method uses a cutter 82 having a cutting zone extending from a corner 1A of the side to be opened of the box 1 along an edge thereof into the thickness of the box 1 and be confined in these parts of the box 1 for cutting the outer liner 3 of the side to be opened of the box 1 and a folded portion 4B of the inner liner 4 on the back side of that outer liner 3 .

Description: The present invention relates to a method of cutting a cardboard box using a cutter having a cutting zone, and an apparatus and device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes. Japanese Patent Publication (JP-B2) Hei 5-63376 discloses a box cutter for opening cardboard boxes accommodating articles in article pick-out equipment or the like. This prior art technique is as shown in Fig. 9. As shown, a box 1 is formed by using a cardboard 2 . The cardboard 2 has a structure comprising an outer liner 3 , an inner liner 4 , these liners being made from board paper or the like, and a core member 5 of jute, used paper. etc. sandwiched between the liners. Along an edge 1A of the box 1 , a folding line 4A is formed in the inner liner 4 by folding the inner liner 4 into the cardboard 2. In the prior art, a rotary blade 6 of the cutter acts obliquely on the box 1 just like it is turned down on the side of the center of the top surface of the box 1 . The rotary blade 6 is moved in the direction of conveying of the box 1 to cut off a corner portion of the box 1, constituted by two, i.e., top and side, outer liner portions 3 along the edge 1A and two inner liner portions 4 on the back side of the two outer liner portions 3 . In this way, the box 1 is opened at the top. In the above prior art, however, the following problems are posed. (1) Since the rotary blade 6 cuts the box portion at the corner 1A obliquely, its tip penetrates a zone extending from the top to the outside of the side. Therefore, cutting dust produced by the rotary blade 6 is scattered to the outside of the box to contaminate the neighborhood of the rotary blade 6 and the outer surfaces of the box 1 . In addition, the articles accommodated in the box may be contaminated by touching of the cutting dust by personnel removing the articles from the box. (2) The rotary blade 6 cuts the corner portion of the box 1 that is constituted by two, i.e., top and side, outer liner portions 3 along the edge 1A and two inner liner portions 4 on the back side of the outer liner portions 3 . This means that the rotary blade 6 cuts four hard liners at a time. Therefore, it encounters high resistance against cutting and is subject to early damage. In addition, cutter size increase may be required. (3) Usually, cardboard boxes 1 are stacked in a plurality of stages like a pallet when they are transported from the factory to a commodity distribution center or the like to be stored there. Such stacked boxes may frequently be deformed, for instance crushed in the height direction. Fig. 10A shows a deformed example of a box. With such deformation of box 1 , articles contained in the box 1 may be cut when the box portion along the edge 1A is cut obliquely by the rotary blade 6 , as shown in Fig. 10B, or it may be impossible to cut the box 1, as shown in Fig. 10C. Furthermore, EP-A 362569 discloses a method and an apparatus for cutting a cardboard box in accordance with the preambles of claims 1 and 2, and a device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes wherein the method and the apparatus comprises a cutter having an inclined zone extending into the interior of the box and the device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes uses a plurality of cutters mentioned above. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of cutting a cardboard box, an apparatus for cutting a cardboard box and a device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes as indicated above allowing a reliable cutting of a cardboard box and cutting and opening of cardboard boxes without contaminating the cutter neighborhood, outer box surfaces and articles accommodated within and also permits reduction of resistance offered against cutting. According to the present invention this objective is solved by a method of cutting a cardboard box as defined in claim 1. Regarding the apparatus aspects, the above-mentioned objective is solved by an apparatus and device as defined in claims 2 and 3. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are laid down in the further subclaims. According to the invention, the following functions and effects are obtainable. (1) With the cutting zone of the cutter adapted to extend from the corner portion of the side to be opened of the box into the thickness of the cardboard of the box and being confined within these parts of the box, cutting dust produced by the cutter (i.e., paper dust produced by a rotary blade or soot produced by a laser cutter) is retained within the wall of the cardboard box and not scattered to the outside thereof. There is thus no possibility of contaminating the neighborhood of the cutter, outer surfaces of the box and articles accommodated therein. (2) The cutter cuts a single outer liner constituting a side to be opened of the box along an edge thereof and two folded inner liner portions on the back side of the outer liner. This means that the box can be opened by cutting only three liners at a time. The resistance offered against cutting thus can be reduced, and it is possible to reduce the cutter size. Further, where a blade is used as the cutter, it can be less damaged. (3) Since the cutting zone of the cutter is confined within the wall of the cardboard box, reliable cutting is obtainable by merely increasing the cutting depth, irrespective of deformation of the box in the height direction thereof during transport or the like. The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given hereinbelow and from the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which are given by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a box cutting system embodying the invention; Figs. 2A to 2C are schematic views showing a box orientation changer system; Figs. 3A to 3D are schematic views showing manners of box orientation change; Figs. 4A and 4B are schematic views showing a cutter section; Figs. 5A and 5B are views showing an essential part shown in Figs. 4A and 4B ; Figs. 6A and 6B are schematic views illustrating the principles underlying the cutting operation of the cutter section; Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the cutting operation; Figs. 8A and 8B are schematic views showing examples of opening a box; Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing a prior art cutter; and Figs. 10A to 10C are schematic views showing states of cutting obtained with the prior art cutter. (Cardboard box) ( Fig. 6 ) As shown in Fig. 6 , a cardboard box 1 which is handled is formed by using a cardboard 2 . The cardboard 2 comprises an outer liner 3 , an inner liner 4 , these liners being made from board paper or the like, and a core 5 made of jute, used paper, etc. and sandwiched between the two liners. In the cardboard box 1 , a folding line 4A is formed in the inner liner 4 in the corner portion along the edge 1A by folding the inner liner 4 into the cardboard 2 . The reference numeral 4B represents a folded portion of the inner liner 4 . The cardboard box 1 is a cuboid, and it is transported while accommodating such articles A as cleanser containers, paper diaper packs, etc. from the factory to a place where there is article pick-out equipment. In the article pick-out equipment, the box 1 is opened by a box cutting system 10 ( Fig. 1 ), and then the articles in the box 1 are taken out either manually or by an automatic pick-out system. (Box cutting unit) ( Fig. 1 ) The box cutting system 10 , as shown in Fig. 1 , comprises a box feeder section 11 , a box orientation changer section 12 , and a cutter section 13 , and it opens one side of the cardboard box 1 . The box feeder section 11 includes a box take-out unit 22 , which takes out one layer of cardboard boxes 1 from a pallet stack of like cardboard boxes on a pallet 21 . The box feeder section 11 re-arranges the like boxes 1 of one layer, having been taken out by the box take-out unit 22 , into a train to be fed on a conveyor (i.e., roller conveyor) 23 . The box orientation changer section 12 is connected to the outlet end of the box feeder section 11 and changes the orientation of each box under control of a control CPU (not shown) such as to let a side to be opened, as registered for each kind of article in the control CPU, be the top. The cutter section 13 is connected to the outlet end of the box orientation changer section 12 , and cuts corner portions of the top of each cardboard box 1 along the edges 1A under control of the control CPU, thus opening the box. The box orientation changer section 12 and cutter section 13 will now be described in detail. (Box orientation changer section 12 ) ( Figs. 1 to 3A to 3D ) The box orientation changer section 12 , as shown in Fig. 1 , includes a box turning unit 31 and a box rotating unit 41 . The box turning unit 31 is disposed ahead of the box rotating unit 41 , and it can rotate each box 1 to be fed to the box rotating unit 41 in a horizontal plane. More specifically, the unit 31 has a turning lever 33 which can be advanced into and retreated from the conveying zone of the conveyor 32 and is operable by a cylinder 34 . With the turning lever 33 held in an original waiting position, each box 1 conveyed on the conveyor 33 from the box feeder section 11 is passed without changing its longitudinally directed orientation. With the turning lever 33 held advanced from the original position, each box 1 fed in the longitudinally directed orientation on the conveyor 23 from the box feeder section 11 , is rotated 90 degrees into a short or transversely directed orientation. The conveyor 23 of the box feeder section 11 feeds out each box 1 with the feed orientation thereof aligned to the longitudinally directed orientation, i.e., orientation in which the longitudinal direction is the feed direction. The box rotating unit 41 , as shown in Figs. 1 and 2A to 2C , has a four-side conveyor 42 and a rotation drive unit 49 . The four side conveyor 42 has a tunnel-like box conveying zone 46 in a circular frame 45 , which is supported on a roller 44 provided in a support 43 . The box conveying zone 46 is enclosed by four sides each provided with a conveyor (i.e., roller conveyor) 47 . The conveyors 47 are belt-on conveyors, and a belt 47B which undergoes excursion in contact with each roller 47A is passed round a belt excursion roller 47C . Below the four side conveyor 42 , a lifter 48 is disposed. On the lifter 48 a motor 48A and a belt drive roller 48B driven by the motor 48A are provided. The lifter 48 lifts the belt drive roller 48B into forced contact with the belt 47B passed round the belt excursion roller 47C of the conveyor 47 which is located lowermost among the four conveyors 47 of the four side conveyor 42 . Each roller 44 of the conveyor 47 can be driven with the rotation of the belt drive roller 48B caused by the motor 48A . The rotation drive unit 49 has a motor 49A connected to the roller 44 . The four side conveyor 42 is rotated about the axis of the tunnel-like conveying zone 46 with rotation of the roller 44 caused by the motor 49A . The box rotating unit 41 operates as in (1) to (3) below. (1) When the train of like cardboard boxes 1 fed out from the turning unit 31 are led into the tunnel-like conveying zone 46 , the belt drive roller 48B is raised by the lifter 48 . The belt drive roller 48B is brought into forced contact with the belt 47B around the belt excursion roller 47C of the conveyer 47 at the lowermost position among the four conveyors 47 , and is driven by the motor 48A . As a result, the rollers 47A of the conveyors 47 are driven ( Fig. 2A ). While the train of cardboard boxes 1 are led into the tunnel-like box conveying zone 46 , the preceding train of cardboard boxes 1 having been orientation changed by the box rotating unit 41 are led out of the box conveying zone 46 to be fed to the cutter section 13 . (2) After the train of cardboard boxes 1 fed out from the box turning unit 31 have been led into the tunnel-like box conveying zone 46 and the preceding train of boxes 1 have been led out of the box conveying zone 46 as in (1), the lifter 48 is lowered, whereby the belt drive roller 48B is separated from the belt 47B of the belt excursion roller 47C of the conveyor 47 ( Fig. 2C ). The belt drive roller 48B thus escapes from the orbit of rotation of the four side conveyor 42 in the orientation changing operation. (3) After (2) above, the rotation drive unit 49 causes rotation of the tunnel-like box conveying zone 46 about the axis thereof by 90 degrees or 180 degrees ( Fig. 2B ). Consequently, the cardboard boxes 1 in the tunnel-like conveying zone 46 , are supported on the conveyor 47 which is newly brought to the lowermost position among the four conveyors 47 for changing their orientation. Since the box orientation changer section 12 has the box rotating unit 41 and box turning unit 31 , it can make the feed orientation of boxes 1 fed to the cutter section 13 to be either one of the following ones (a) to (d) according to an instruction of the control CPU corresponding to the pertinent kind of boxes (i.e., an instruction for setting the top as the surface to be opened) ( Figs. 3A to 3D ). In the orientation of boxes fed by the box feeder section 11 , the top is referred to as A side, the left and right sides as B side, the front and rear sides as C side, and the bottom as D side. (a) When the function of neither box turning unit 31 nor box rotating unit 41 is provided, the boxes 1 are fed to the cutter section 13 in the feed orientation with the A side as the top ( Fig. 3A ). (b) When the boxes 1 are rotated 90 degrees by the box rotating unit 41 , they are fed to the cutter section 13 with the B side as the top ( Fig. 3B ). (c) When the boxes 1 are turned 90 degrees in horizontal plane by the box turning unit 31 and then rotated 90 degrees by the box rotating unit 41 , they are fed to the cutter section 13 with the C side as the top ( Fig. 3C ). (d) When the boxes 1 are rotated 180 degrees by the box turning unit 41 , they are fed to the cutter section 13 with the D side as the top ( Fig. 3D ). In the above way, the box orientation changer section 12 collectively changes or sets the orientation of a plurality of cardboard boxes 1 that are fed as a train. (Cutter section 13 ) ( Figs. 1, 4A and 4B , to 6A and 6B ) The cutter section 13 , as shown in Fig. 1 , includes a first cutter unit 13A , a second cutter unit 13B and a conveying direction changing unit 13C . The first cutter unit 13A is disposed on a conveyor (roller conveyor) 51 provided on the outlet side of the box orientation changer section 12 and cuts corners of cardboard boxes 1 along either or each edge 1A extending in the box conveying direction. On the conveyor 51 , the cardboard boxes 1 fed to the first cutter unit 13A are brought to one side perpendicular to the box conveying direction to be positioned in the direction of cutting operation, and to this end a side roller 51A is provided on the side to which the boxes 1 are brought. The conveying direction changing unit 13C has a conveyor (roller conveyor) 52 , which is disposed on the outlet side of the conveyor 51 and extends at right angles thereto. In this unit 13C , the direction of conveying of the cardboard boxes 1 fed out from the first cutter unit 13A is thus turned 90 degrees in horizontal plane. To this end, the conveyor 52 has a side roller 52A for receiving boxes 1 fed on the conveyor 51 . The second cutter unit 13B is disposed on a conveyor (roller conveyor) 53 provided on the outlet side of the conveyor 52 , and cuts the corner portion of cardboard boxes 1 fed out from the conveying direction changing unit 13C along either or each edge 1A . On the conveyor 53 , the boxes 1 fed to the second cutter unit 13B are brought to one side perpendicular to the box conveying direction to be positioned in the direction of cutting operation. To this end, a side roller 53A is provided on the side to which the boxes 1 are brought. The cutter units 13 (i.e., 13A and 13B ) have a structure as shown in Figs. 4A and 4B to 6A and 6B . As shown in Figs. 4A and 4B , each cutter unit 13 has a lift frame 62 mounted on a support 61 striding the conveyor 51 (or 53 ). With rotation of a feed screw 64A driven by a feed motor 64 , the lift frame 62 is lifted and lowered while being guided by a slide guide 63 secured to the support 61 . The lift frame 62 carries a horizontally movable frame 65 . With rotation of a feed screw 67A driven by a horizontal drive motor 67 , the horizontally movable frame 65 is moved horizontally while being guided by a slide guide 66 secured to the lift frame 62 . The lift frame 62 and horizontally movable frame 65 have a left and a right cutter 71A and 71B , respectively. The cutters 71A and 71B have the same structure. As shown in Figs. 5A and 5B , they each have a vertical shaft 72 provided on the lift frame 62 (or horizontally movable frame 65 ), a pivotal lever 73 pivoted to the vertical shaft 72 , a pivotal arm 75 pivoted to a horizontal shaft 74 provided in the pivotal lever 73 , an intermediate lever 77 pivoted via a horizontal shaft 76 to the pivotal arm 75 , and a support member 79 mounted via a vertical shaft 78 on the intermediate lever 77 . The support 79 is thus held suspended substantially horizontally. The support 79 has a guide plate (or guide) 81 and a cutter 82 both secured to it. The lift frame 62 (or horizontally movable frame 65 ) has a spring bearing 83 which has a vertical air spring 74 and a horizontal air spring 85 . The vertical air spring 84 exerts a vertical spring force based on an air pressure to the pivotal arm 75 , and the horizontal air spring 85 exerts a horizontal spring force based on an air pressure to the pivotal arm 75 . The guide plate 81 has a corner guide 81A which is set such as to extend in the direction of conveying cardboard boxes 1 to receive each thereof fed on the conveyor 51 (or 53 ) in forced contact with the edges 1A of the top of the box 1 (with spring forces of the springs 84 and 85 ) and guide the box 1 in a predetermined direction of cutting operation. The guide plate 81 has an opening formed by an inlet guide 81B on the inlet side of the corner guide 81A to smoothly guide the box 1 being introduced. The guide may as well be such as to guide each box 1 in contact with sides thereof alone and not in contact with the edges 1A of the top. Each cutter 82 , as shown in Fig. 6A , is a laser cutter using a CO 2 laser or the like. In operation, the cutter 82 is set in a mounting position relative to the guide plate 81 on the support 79 such that its cutting zone is defined with respect to the cardboard box 1 such as to extend from the corner portion of the box 1 along the top edge 1A into the cardboard 2 and be confined in these parts of the box 1 . That is, the cutter 82 cuts the top outer liner 3 of the box 1 and the folded portion 4B of the inner liner 4 on the back side of that outer liner 3 . The laser cutter 82 may be replaced with a rotary blade 91 or the like as shown in Fig. 6B . The rotary blade 91 or the like is again set so its cutting zone is confined in the thickness of the cardboard 2 so that it cuts the top outer liner of the box 1 and the folded portion 4B of the inner liner 4 on the back side of that outer line 3 . The cutter section 13 sets the position of the left and right cutters 71A and 71B afresh for each article kind by controlling the lift motor 64 and horizontal drive motor 67 according to an instruction of the control CPU (i.e., instruction for setting the height and width of the top of box 1 ) corresponding to the pertinent article kind. That is, the setting position of the left and right cutters 71A and 71B are fixed for like cardboard boxes 1 . Thus, the cutter units 13 (i.e., 13A and 13B ) cut a plurality of cardboard boxes 1 successively while the boxes 1 are conveyed as a train on the conveyor 51 or 52 . The cutting procedure of the box cutting system 10 will now be described in detail ( Fig. 7 ). (1) The box feeder section 11 takes out one layer of cardboard boxes 1 from the pallet stack of like cardboard boxes on the pallet 21 . (2) The box feeder section 11 re-arranges one layer of the like cardboard boxes taken out, as in (1), into a train. (3) The box turning unit 31 and box rotating unit 41 of the box orientation changer section 12 orient each cardboard box 1 such that the side to be opened is the top ( Figs. 3A to 3B ). The box orientation changer section 12 deals with the plurality of cardboard boxes 1 as a train collectively. (4) The first and second cutter units 13A and 13B of the cutter section 13 cut all the corner portions of each cardboard box 1 along the edges 1A of the top. The cutter section 13 is not required to cut the box 1 along all the top edges thereof, but can select the cutting place, such as only three sides of the box 1 . (5) The top of each cardboard box 1 cut in (4) is removed ( Figs. 8A and 8B ). (6) The boxes 1 are fed with their top removed or opened in (5) directed up to a flowing shelf. Subsequently, the articles in the box 1 are taken out either manually or by an automatic pick-out system. This embodiment has the following effects. (1) With the provision on the inlet side of the cutter section 13 of the box orientation changer section 12 for orienting the boxes 1 fed from the box feeder section 11 such that the side to be opened is the top, it is possible to select a first surface to be opened of the boxes 1 among the various surfaces thereof and feed the boxes 1 with the selected surface as the top to the cutter section 11 for opening. This permits, for instance, freely setting the side to be opened such that like surfaces of a greater number of articles in an arrangement coincide with the side to be opened so that a greater number of articles can be picked out at a time either manually or by a pick-out system. In the case shown in Fig. 8A , like surfaces of four articles coincide with the side to be opened. In the case shown in Fig. 8B , like surfaces of ten articles coincide with the side to be opened, thus permitting great improvement of the pick-out operation efficiency. (2) Since the box orientation changer section 12 includes the box rotating unit 41 along with, if necessary, the box turning unit 31 , the feed orientation of boxes 1 fed to the cutter section 13 can be set to either one of the Figs. 3A to 3D orientations according to an instruction of the control CPU (i.e., instruction for setting the side to be opened as the top) corresponding to the pertinent article kind, and a predetermined side to be opened of the boxes 1 can be set reliably and stably as the top. That is, with simple structure of the box turning unit 31 and box rotating unit 41 , two functions, i.e., that of turning boxes and that of rotating boxes, are provided to permit setting of a necessary surface of the boxes 1 as the top. (3) For cutting the corners of the box 1 along all the four top edges, the cutter section 13 includes the first and second cutter units 13A and 13B , both of which can cut the corner portions of the box 1 on the opposite sides thereof in the box conveying direction. The first and second cutter units 13A and 13B thus can cut the corner portions of the box 1 as the box 1 is conveyed in the box conveying direction, and it is thus possible to improve the efficiency and productivity of the box cutting operation. (4) Like boxes (containing same kind of articles) 1 are fed as a train for orientation change and cutting, and it is thus possible to improve the efficiency of the orientation changing operation of the orientation changer section 12 and the efficiency and productivity of the cutting operation of the cutter section 13 . (5) The cutting zone of the cutters 82 is such that it extends from the corner portions of the side to be opened of the box 1 into the cardboard 2 thereof and is confined in these parts of the box 1 . Thus, cutting dust produced by the cutters 82 (i.e., paper dust produced by rotary blades or suit produced by laser cutters) are retained within the thickness of the cardboard 2 and not scattered to the outside of the box 1 . There is thus no possibility of contaminating the neighborhood of the cutters, outer surfaces of the box and articles accommodated therein. (6) Each cutter 82 cuts a single outer liner portion 3 constituting the side to be opened of the box 1 along an edge 1A thereof and the folded portion 4B constituted by two inner liner portions 4 on the back side of that outer liner portion 3 . It is thus possible to open the box 1 by cutting only three liners 3 and 4 at a time. This means that the resistance offered to cutting is reduced, and also it is possible to reduce the size of the cutting section. Further, where the rotary blades 91 are used as cutters 82 , they may be less damaged. (7) Since the cutting zone of the cutters 82 is confined within the thickness of the wall of the cardboard box 1 , even when boxes 1 are deformed in their height direction during their transport, reliable cutting is obtainable by merely increasing the depth of cutting. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, its detailed structures are by no means limitative, changes and modifications in the details of design may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the box need not be a cuboid, but it may be any polyhedron as well. As has been described in the foregoing, according to the invention, it is possible to cut and open cardboard boxes without the possibility of contaminating the neighborhood of the cutters, outer surfaces of the boxes and accommodated articles. In addition, it is possible to reduce the resistance offered to cutting.

Claims: A method of cutting a cardboard box (1) using a cutter (82, 91) having a cutting zone, characterized by positioning said cutting zone of the cutter (82, 91) in an area extended from an outer liner (3) of a cardboard side wall being adjacent to the side to be opened to an inner liner (4) of said cardboard side wall and being confined within these parts of the cardboard box (1), and cutting an outer liner (3) of the side to be opened and a folding line (4A) being formed at a cardboard edge portion by folding the inner liner (4) extending into the thickness of the cardboard (2) on the back side of said outer liner (3) along the cardboard edge (1A). An apparatus for cutting a cardboard box (1) with a cutter (82, 91) having a cutting zone and a conveyor (51, 53) for conveying the cardboard box (1), characterized in that said cutter (82, 91) is supported on a guide (81) for guiding the top cardboard edge (1A) of the cardboard box (1) in a box conveying direction, and said cutting zone of the cutter (82, 91) is arranged such that, in use, it is positioned at an area extended from an outer liner (3) of the cardboard side wall being adjacent to the side to be opened to an inner liner (4) of said cardboard side wall and being confined within these parts of the cardboard box (1), for cutting an outer liner (3) of the side to be opened and a folding line (4A) being formed at a cardboard edge portion by folding the inner liner (4) extending into the thickness of the cardboard (2) on the back side of said outer liner (3) along the cardboard edge (1A). A device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes, comprising a first cutter unit (13A) being disposed on a first conveyor (51) for cutting a corner portion of the cardboard box (1) along an edge (1A) thereof extending in the box conveying direction, a conveying direction changing unit (13C) being provided on the outlet side of the first conveyor (51) and causing a 90 degree rotation in the horizontal plane of the direction of conveying the cardboard box (1), a second cutter unit (13B) being disposed on a second conveyor (53) provided on the outlet side of the conveying direction changing unit (13C) for cutting a corner portion of the cardboard box (1) fed out from the conveying direction changing unit (13C) along an edge extending in the new box conveying direction, wherein the first and second cutter units (13A, 13B) each include an apparatus for cutting a cardboard box according to claim 2. A device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes according to claim 3, wherein the guide (81) has a corner guide (81A) set to extend in the box conveying direction, the corner guide (81A) serving to receive the cardboard box (1) fed on the first and second conveyors (51, 53) in forced contact with edges (1A) of the top of the cardboard box (1) to guide the cardboard box (1) in a predetermined direction of cutting operation, the corner guide (81A) having an inlet guide portion (81B) defining an opening for smoothly guiding the cardboard box (1) entering the corner guide (81A). A device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes according to claim 3, wherein the cutter is a laser cutter. A device for cutting and opening cardboard boxes according to claim 3, wherein the cutter is a rotary blade.

Inventors: TANAKA NOBUHIRO, TANAKA, NOBUHIRO
Applicants: KAO CORP, KAO CORPORATION
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65B69
IPC codes: B65B69