Abstract:
A method for assembling a blank including accessing a blank having a main panel portion and at least one flap portion coupled to the main panel. The method further includes positioning a plate adjacent to the blank, the plate having curved edge, folding the flap portion relative to the main panel portion about the curved edge of the plate such that the flap portion is coupled to the main panel portion along a curved line thereof.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 13/176,641 filed Jul. 5, 2011 entitled Cartoner for Cartons Having Concave Sides, which is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 12/885,464 filed Sep. 18, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,049 issued Aug. 16, 2011 entitled Cartoner for Cartons Having Concave Sides, which is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 12/240,736 filed Sep. 29, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,819,791 issued Oct. 26, 2010, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/975,820 filed Sep. 28, 2007. The entire contents of all four applications/patents are incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to packaging equipment. In particular the invention relates to an apparatus and methods for forming, gluing, and filling preformed cartons, particularly cartons which have concave sides. 
         [0003]    Current systems for handling products and packages, such as cartons, commonly to use conveyors to move and assemble cartons from blanks, and to then move and transfer products into the formed, glued cartons in an inline process. The conveyors typically include elements, such as carton or product lugs, chains, gears, oscillators, and the like, all of which are typically linked together by a drive system, such as a motor driven chain drive system. The various elements which comprise the packaging equipment combine to form a piece of apparatus called a “cartoner”. 
         [0004]    Typical cartoners are generally referred to as “horizontal” or “vertical” cartoners, the distinction being in the manner in which they operate, with horizontal cartoners typically being relatively long machines which are loaded with blank cartons at one end. As they move down the conveyor, the carton blanks are formed and glued into partially formed cartons which lie on their sides. Product is loaded into the partially formed cartons which are “horizontally” oriented, and then their flaps are tucked, glued, and sealed. The fully formed cartons, loaded with product, are then passed to a final station where they are removed for storage or shipping. 
         [0005]    As is known by those familiar with the cartoner industry, some so-called “horizontal” cartoners, such as those made by Langen Packaging, Inc. of Mississauga, Canada, can also be “tilted” upwards to about forty-five degrees. Similarly, there are so-called “vertical” cartoners which form cartons from the blanks such that they have a vertical orientation when they are filled. 
         [0006]    Each of the known prior art cartoners, whether horizontal, “tilted”, or vertical, is designed to form a carton from a blank, tuck in (and glue) the various flaps, and provide an area (or station) at which a partially formed carton having an open end can be filled with product, either manually or automatically. After the partially formed cartons have been filled, cartoners typically provide a further area in which the remaining flaps of the filled carton are glued and sealed, and then, ultimately removed from the machine, manually or using a conveyor system, whereby fully formed cartons, filled with product, ultimately leave the cartoner. 
         [0007]    Based upon their design and operation, cartoners are capable of handling the foregoing operation with up to several thousand cartons being formed and filled in every shift. 
         [0008]    As is generally understood, a standard design for a carton is a generally rectangular box, such as those used for products found on the shelves of supermarkets and other stores, filled with everything from cereals to golf balls. A problem which has existed with the cartoners of the prior art, however, is that they are generally limited to handling cartons having only a limited type of shape, while recent market studies have shown that consumers perceive certain shapes, such as a tapered carton having concave sides, as being premium packages which contain premium products. 
         [0009]    The heretofore known cartoners have been unable to form cartons from blanks which would provide the formed cartons with such tapered, concave sides. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a side schematic view of the cartoner of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a “premium” carton having concave sides of the type which can be folded, formed, and filled using the present invention; and 
           [0012]      FIGS. 3-30  are perspective views showing the invention of  FIG. 1  producing the carton of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Referring first to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the present invention is a new cartoner  10  which can be used to form, fill, and glue a carton  12  having concave (e.g., tapered) sides  14 ,  16  (See,  FIG. 2 ). With continued reference to  FIG. 1 , the cartoner  10  of the present invention is an elongated apparatus which includes a loading area  18  at one end. The loading area  18  includes a magazine which holds a stack of preformed carton blanks As those skilled in the art are aware, carton blanks are made by carton manufacturers who generally deliver the blanks in a collapsed form, whereby they can be stacked in a magazine located in the loading area  18  of the cartoner  10 . 
         [0014]    With continued reference to  FIG. 1 , the cartoner  10  includes means, located in the loading area  18 , for removing individual collapsed blanks from the magazine and then moving them from the loading area  18 , through a series of sections  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  of the cartoner  10  where the blanks undergo a series of operations. Thus, the cartoner  10  includes a section  20  in which the collapsed blanks are opened, and additional sections at which the flaps on one side of the blanks are closed  22 , at which product is inserted into the partially completed carton  24 , at which the remaining flaps are closed and glued  26 , and a section  28  at which completed, filled cartons are removed for storage and shipping. 
         [0015]    Referring, now, to  FIG. 3 , as is generally known in the art, the blanks  30  which are used to form the cartons  12  (See,  FIG. 2 ) have already been cut, scored, adhesively bonded, and folded flat before they are placed into the magazine  32  at the loading area  18  of the cartoner  10 . From there, individual blanks  30  are pulled from the magazine  32  using rotating vacuum sucker cups  34  which are mounted on a rotating, articulating apparatus  35 , designed to reach out, and grab, a single preformed carton blank  30  at a time. 
         [0016]    With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the vacuum sucker cups  34  are driven and rotated by a system, such as an electrically operated motor (not shown) which drives a chain  38  to insure that the movements of the various elements of the cartoner  10  are synchronized. The spacing of the carton blanks  30 , as they are fed from the magazine  32  is determined by the “pitch” of the cartoner  10 . Thus, a typical cartoner will generally have a predetermined “pitch”, meaning that a carton blank  30  will follow (and be followed by) the next adjacent carton blank  30 , with the blanks separated by the “pitch” length from one another. Within the “pitch” known cartoners have so-called “lugs” which receive and retain the carton blanks  30  as they pass from the loading end  18  of the cartoner  10  to the “filled” end  28 . 
         [0017]    The way the cartoner  10  of the present invention is able to accomplish the loading and sealing of a carton  12  having concave sides  14 ,  16  requires numerous modifications to “standard” cartoner machines. In the following explanation of the present invention, a “horizontal” cartoner machine is described, although those skilled in the art will, of course, recognize that the invention is not limited solely to horizontal cartoners. 
         [0018]    With reference to  FIGS. 5-7 , in the cartoner  10  of the present invention, as well as in standard, horizontal cartoning machines, after the vacuum sucker cups  34  grab an individual blank  30  from the magazine  32 , they move the trailing edge  36  of the blank  30  (e.g., the scored edge between the bottom  42  of the carton blank  30  and the rear  44  of the carton blank  30 ) against a bar  40  which traps the blank  30 , whereby further relative movement of the blank  30  toward the bar  40  (as the vacuum sucker cups continue to rotate toward the left, as shown in  FIG. 6 ) causes the carton blank  30  to open from the original flattened position it had in the magazine  32  to a more “carton-like” position in which the front  46  and rear  44  of the blank  30  are spaced apart, as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0019]    At the same time, the blank  30  is positioned between a leading capture lug  48  and a trailing capture lug  50  (See,  FIGS. 6-9 ). While “standard” cartoners also use lugs, those lugs are generally rectangular in cross-section, whereas the “capture lugs”  48 ,  50  of the present invention are formed such that they are able to both hold the blank  30  therebetween and to squeeze the blank  30  to bow its front  46  upward and its rear  44  downward as shown in  FIGS. 10-11 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, immediately before the trailing edge  36  of the blank  30  is placed into the rear capture lug  50 , the trailing edge  36  is pressed against an angled bar  40  (See,  FIG. 7 ) which urges the blank  30  to open up as the rear capture lug  50  approaches it. 
         [0020]    The vacuum sucker cups  34  urge the leading edge of the blank  30  into the leading capture lug  48  until it is fitted into the leading capture lug  48  as shown in  FIGS. 8-9 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, rails  52  (See,  FIGS. 8-9 ) assist in holding the leading edge of the blank  30  down as it is urged into position within the leading capture lug  48 . With the blank  30  fully retained by the capture lugs  48 ,  50 , the blank  30  will be somewhat “bowed”, as shown in  FIGS. 10-11 , the importance of which will hereafter be made clear. 
         [0021]    With reference to  FIG. 10 , the bowed blank  30  next approaches a first plow rod  54  which has an angled end  56 . As the leading distal minor flap  58  of the blank  30  makes contact with the angled end  56  of the plow rod  54 , the angled end  56  of the plow rod  54  urges the leading distal minor flap  58  to bend and close, as shown in  FIGS. 11-13 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIGS. 13-14 , as the blank  30  moves further, a rotating rotary minor flap tucker  60 , which rotates in a counterclockwise manner when viewed from above, makes contact with, and urges the closure of, the trailing distal minor flap  62 . As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the movement of the blank  30  along the path of the cartoner  10  allows the stationary plow rod  54  to close the leading distal minor flap  58 , as the closure of the rear leading distal minor flap  58  is toward the bottom of the carton  12 . To close the trailing distal minor flap  62 , on the other hand, requires that the flap  62  be closed toward the inside of the carton  12 . Accordingly, the rotary minor flap tucker  60  has to rotate toward the leading edge of the carton blank  30 , and it must do so at a speed greater than the speed at which the blank  30  is moving along the cartoner  10 . 
         [0023]    As the blank  30  continues to move, the elongated plow rod  54  holds both the rear leading and the rear trailing minor flaps  58 ,  62  closed, as shown in  FIGS. 14-15 . As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the vertical heights of the plow rod  54  and the rotary minor flap tucker  60  must be offset somewhat, whereby the rotating rotary minor flap tucker  60  does not strike the plow rod  56 . This displacement allows the plow rod  54 , which had closed the rear leading minor flap  58  to also receive the now closed rear trailing minor flap  62 , thereby holding both rear minor flaps  58 ,  62  in the closed position shown in  FIGS. 14-15 . At this point product can be inserted into the partially completed carton. 
         [0024]    Referring next to  FIGS. 15-17 , the blank  30  approaches another plow rod  64  which also includes an angled portion  66 , so that when the front leading minor flap  68  reaches the angled portion  66  of the plow rod  64 , as shown in  FIGS. 15-16 , contact with the angled portion  66  of plow rod  64  closes the front leading minor flap  68 . This is followed shortly thereafter by the closure of the front trailing minor flap  70  by another rotating rotary minor flap tucker  72 , as shown in  FIG. 17 . 
         [0025]    With reference to  FIGS. 18-22 , the blank  30  next undergoes a series of “pre-breaking” processes in which the major flaps of the blank  30  (corresponding to the sides  14 ,  16  of the carton  12 ) are flexed sufficiently to cause them to bend at their score lines when subsequent bending operations are conducted. These “pre-breaking” steps are key to the successful closure of the carton, as they soften the blank  30  along the curved score lines which give the carton  12  its concave sides  14 ,  16  (See,  FIG. 2 ). The pre-breaking processes are accomplished by using lower secondary plow rods  74  to shape the lower inside major flaps by bowing them. As shown in  FIGS. 18-19  a lower secondary angle plow  74  urges the front inside major flap  76  up as the blank  30  moves into its leading edge. A second set of plow plates  75  continues to close inside major flaps  76 , when they reach the plates  75 . Similarly, a lower secondary angle plow  74  (not shown) and plow plate  75  on the rear side urges the rear inside flap up. Next, upper secondary angle plows  78  are used to pre-break and retain the front and rear upper flaps  80 ,  82  of the blank  30  inside capture lugs  48 ,  50 , as shown in  FIG. 20 . 
         [0026]    Then, the partially formed carton blank  30  passes through a section of the cartoner  10  in which the inner major flaps  76  undergo a pre-breaking process while oscillators  84 , which move with the blank  30  on each side (See,  FIG. 21 ) press inward and urge the major inner flaps into position creasing at the score line of the blank  30 . Once the lower major inner flaps are positioned, another set of cam track oscillators  86  which have curved metal cam operated pusher carton pre-break plates  88  (See,  FIG. 22 ) hold the major inside flaps closed. As illustrated, the pusher carton prebreak plates  88  have curved cutouts  90  (See,  FIGS. 22-23 ) to prevent interference with the rods which will fit into position. 
         [0027]    Next, the major outer flaps  80 ,  82  are pre-broken over the top of the carton pre-break plates  88  using rods  94 , as shown in  FIGS. 23-24 . With the score lines of the carton blank  30  all having been “pre-broken”, the major outer flaps are urged into their final position as shown in  FIG. 25 , by rollers  96  which are used to fully form the major flap score lines while avoiding any “marking” of the carton blank  30 . 
         [0028]    Then the outside major flaps  80 ,  82  are released from the rollers  96 . The curved metal cam operated pusher pre-break plates  88  pull away from the carton blank  30  thereby reopening pre-broken outside major flaps  80 ,  82 . Rods fit into position through cutouts  90 , thereby holding the inside major flaps  76  closed. 
         [0029]    Finally, glue (typically hot melted glue) is applied to the flaps, and the outer major flaps are reclosed by rods and rollers  97  and held in position by traveling pressure blocks  98  while the hot glue sets. As shown in  FIGS. 26-30 , the pressure blocks  98  have convex outer faces  100  to fit, and mate with, the concave sides  14 ,  16  of the carton  12 . 
         [0030]    With reference to  FIG. 30 , the fully formed, filled carton  12  disengages from the front capture lug  48  at the far end of the cartoner  28  (See,  FIG. 1 ). Due to the manner in which the non-rectangular rear lug  50  overlays the carton  12 , it is preferable to have a conveyor meet the carton  12  as it is released by the pressure blocks  98  in order to avoid damage to the fully formed carton  12 . 
         [0031]    While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments and applications, the inventor does not intend to restrict the description to the examples shown. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that the above apparatus and methods may be modified or changed without departing from the general scope of the present description, the intention of the inventor being to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.