Patent Publication Number: US-2023150702-A1

Title: Automatic case packing equipment for stand-up pouches

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to automated equipment and processes to place into a case, such as a cardboard box, stand-up pouches into the upright configuration. The invention can be used to provide retail-ready packaging where the case can be opened and placed on a shelf of a retail store and a consumer can directly pick up the pouch from the case. 
     BACKGROUND 
     For many years, attempts have been made to develop improved systems for picking up individual articles from a conveyor system and depositing those articles within a container, such as a corrugated cardboard box. The desire is to accomplish this task with speed and accuracy. To meet the demand for speed, past solutions have used multiple robots along the conveyor, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,063. Often, if four such robot heads are used, each head picks up every fourth article on the conveyor system in a staggered manner so that the four robot heads effectively remove four consecutive articles during each cycle. While this multiplicity of heads increases the packing speed, the means for moving the robot heads from the conveyor system to the container may be awkward or cumbersome to implement. 
     To provide greater flexibility, multi-axis robots have been developed for picking an article off of a common conveyor. Many such multi-axis robots, however, have proven to be fairly slow and heavy. Hence, while such robots may provide greater flexibility in motion, they have also provided a need for an even greater number of robots to meet the speed requirements in the marketplace today. Additionally, it has been found that with some three-axis robots, the range of movement may be limited in certain directions. For example, certain three-axis robots are very limited in their vertical component, which can make movement of an article from a conveyor into a deep container difficult to perform. 
     To provide even greater flexibility, multi-axis robots as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,644,558 and 8,997,438, can be used for picking an article off of a common conveyor and placing the article in a container. The multi-axis robot can provide the desired speed of operation with the desired range of movement and can accurately pick articles from the conveying system and place them into containers. 
     Even with the improvements made so far in case packing, operators are continually striving for faster and more efficient systems for packing articles from a conveyor into containers. Operators are also striving to implement these systems in a manner that meets “shelf-ready packaging” (SRP) or “retail-ready packaging” (RRP) requirements. SRP and RRP generally refer to the preparation of a product that is delivered to a retailer in a ready-to-self merchandised unit. 
     For example, SRP and RRP products can be easily placed on a shelf without the need for unpacking or repacking. In that regard, SRP and RRP products may be packaged in containers that allow the container to be shipped, stacked, and opened on a pallet in a manner that allows the product to be displayed in the opened container in an isle on the floor of a retail outlet. For example, SRP and RRP products may be packaged in a container in an upright or vertical position, aligned in one or more rows within the container, such that the product brand or name, and/or contents, can be seen while the product remains in the container. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A system for packing a case with articles, the system including a conveying device to convey articles to be packed, in a serial configuration and a support for a case to be packed with the articles in which the articles are configured to be placed in a plurality of rows, including a first row, optionally a second row adjacent to the first row and a last row adjacent to a side wall of the case. A robotic mechanism is provided configured to pick-up a batch of articles from the conveying device and to deposit the batch of articles into the case, the robotic mechanism including an article supporting device moveable between an extended position and a retracted position, the robotic mechanism being configured to execute a first and a second article loading cycle in the case, wherein the first article loading cycle is characterized by lowering a batch of articles in the case and retracting the article supporting device to allow the batch of articles to sit on a bottom of the case and the second article loading cycle is characterized by retracting the article supporting device while the batch of articles is at a distance from the bottom of the case and allowing the batch of articles to fall in the case while being guided by an adjacent row of articles already deposited in the case and the side wall of the case. 
     A method for packing a case with articles, the method comprising, conveying articles to be packed, in a serial configuration, supporting a case to be packed with the articles in which the articles are configured to be placed in a plurality of rows, including a first row and a last row adjacent to a side wall of the case, picking-up a batch of articles from the conveying device and depositing the batch of articles into the case with a robotic mechanism including an article supporting device moveable between an extended position and a retracted position, the robotic mechanism being configured to execute a first and a second article loading cycle in the case, wherein: 
     i. the first article loading cycle being characterized by lowering a batch of articles in the case and retracting the article supporting device to allow the batch of articles to sit on a bottom of the case; ii. a second article loading cycle characterized by retracting the article supporting device while the batch of articles is at a distance from the bottom of the case and allowing the batch of articles to fall in the case while being guided by an adjacent row of articles already deposited in the case and the side wall of the case. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a robotic cell for packing pouches in a stand-up configuration in a case; 
         FIG.  2    is perspective view from above of a plurality of stand-up pouches between cleats of a cleats conveyor; 
         FIG.  3    is a perspective view of a positioning conveyor used with the robotic cell in  FIG.  1    to provide a supply of stand-up pouches to the cleats conveyor of the robotic cell; 
         FIG.  4    is perspective view of the cleats conveyor; 
         FIG.  5    is a schematical view of packaging case, such as a carboard box, showing the arrangement of stand-up pouches achieved with the robotic cell of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIGS.  6 ,  7  and  9    are perspective views of the robotic arm tool to pick-up multiple stand-up pouches from the cleats conveyor and deposit them in the packaging case as per the arrangement shown in  FIG.  5   ; 
         FIG.  8    is an elevational view of the robotic arm tool shown in  FIGS.  6 ,  7  and  8   ; 
         FIG.  10    is a block diagram showing the components of a computerized control system for operating the robotic cell of  FIG.  1   . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a robotic cell having an arrangement of components to automatically load a case, such as a carboard box with stand-up pouches according to a predetermined arrangement. 
     A stand-up pouch is shown at  10   FIG.  2   . The stand-up pouch  10  has side walls joined at an upper edge and a bottom portion that is configured to form a base on which the pouch can stand in the upright position. Typically, the base would be wide enough to provide a stable platform such that the pouch can remain in the upright position. In contrast, the upper end of the pouch can be significantly narrower than the base and can be formed by crimping the side walls at their upped ends or securing them with a releasable fastening mechanism, such that the pouch can be opened to gain access to the contents and then re-closed. This arrangement is useful for food products, where re-closing the pouch allows to keep the product fresh longer. 
     Stand-up pouches are popular in the food retail industry to market granular or particulate products, such as rice, cheese bits and flour among many other products. 
     Referring back to  FIG.  1   , the robotic cell  12  has a frame  14  which forms a module allowing to integrate the various component of the apparatus into a single unit that can be placed at the desired location in a packaging plant and moved around if necessary, such as to service a number of packaging lines. 
     The robotic cell  12  has three main components, namely a cleats conveyor  16 , a case support  18  and a robotic arm  20  carrying a pick-up tool (shown in  FIGS.  6  to  9   ) to pick-up stand-up pouches from the cleats conveyor  16  and deposit them in the upright configuration in the case supported on the case support  18 . 
     The cleats conveyor  16  is shown in greater detail at  FIG.  4   . It has an endless belt  22  that loops a pair of spaced apart rollers, one the rollers being a driven roller such as to impart movement of the belt  22 . A series of cleats  24  are arranged serially and in a spaced apart relationship on the endless belt  22 . As depicted in the drawing, each cleat has a base that is attached to the endless belt  22  such that the body of the cleat, which is substantially planar is maintained perpendicular to the endless belt surface. In this fashion, the cleats that are located on the upper run of the endless belt  22  are substantially vertical and generally parallel to each other. In addition, their spacing is such that a stand-up pouch can fit between then. The cleat spacing can vary according to the size of the stand-up pouch. For thicker stand-up pouches, the cleats can be spaced more than for thinner stand-up pouches. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates in greater detail certain elements of the conveyor  16 . In particular, the conveyor  16  has tabs  26  arranged collectively to form side barriers running on each side of the series of cleats  24 . In a specific form of implementation, each tab is integrally formed with the belt  22  and projects upwardly therefrom. Generally, the tab extends transversally to the main cleat body. The tabs provide lateral support to the stand-up pouches and avoid the stand-up pouches from falling off the conveyor  16  as they are transported. The tabs extend upwardly up to a certain height of the cleats  22 . The height and sizing of the tabs can vary depending on the stand-up pouch configuration. 
     It will be noted that the individual tabs  26  are spaced apart from each other in order to leave a gap  28  which is positioned centrally to the inter-cleat space. The gaps  28  on both side barriers register with each other in order to accommodate pick-up fingers of the pick-up tool as it will be described below. 
     As a possible variant, the tabs can be replaced by a row of upwardly projecting bristles or filaments sufficiently rigid and close to each other to form a continuous barrier running along the conveyor  16 . The bristles are sufficiently rigid to prevent the pouches from fallig off the conveyor but they can be pushed aside to allow the fingers of the pick-up tool to enter the inter-cleat spaces and pick the pouches. 
     The cleats conveyor  16  is supplied with pouches via a positioning conveyor  30  which is depicted in  FIG.  3   . The positioning conveyor  30  has an upper run that is generally horizontal with a guide baffle  32  that constraints the pouches that travel in bulk on the conveyor  30  toward a conveyor outlet that has a width generally corresponding to the width of the cleats conveyor  16 , in order to perform a smoot pouch transition from one conveyor to the other. 
     The case support  18  is another conveyor belt on which empty cases are placed at the conveyor entry  34  and cases filled with pouches are delivered at the conveyor exit  38 . The case support  18  is sequentially operated in that the empty case is positioned at a location where the robotic arm will fill it, it is stopped there and remains at that position until filled, and then the conveyor belt is started to bring it to the exit  38 . In contrast the cleats conveyor  16  operates constantly and the robotic arm  20  cycles between the both conveyor in order to pick up pouches from the cleats conveyor  16  and place them in the case at the opposite side on the case support  18 . 
     At the extremity of the robotic arm is placed a tool  40 , depicted in  FIGS.  6 ,  7  and  8    which is configured to pick up a plurality of pouches maintained in the upright position on the cleats conveyor  16  and deposit them in the case  42  shown in  FIG.  5   . It will be noted in  FIG.  5    that the pouches  10  are arranged in three rows of  8  pouches that are held in place by the bottom of the case  44 , the front wall  46  of the case, the back wall  48  of the case, the left side wall  50  of the case and the right side wall  52  of the case. It will be understood that the pouches  10  are also held in place during transport by the top wall of the case  42 , which would be removed when the case is placed on a shelf in the retail store such as to allow a customer to pick-up the pouches  10 . 
     Note that the illustration in  FIG.  5    is merely an example and the case may hold more than three rows of pouches or less than three row of pouches. 
     Referring back to  FIGS.  6 ,  7 ,  8  and  9    the pick-up tool  40  is able to rotate about a vertical axis  54  shown by doted lines. To achieve this motion, actuators (not shown) are provided on the robotic arm under the control of a data processing device, discussed later, to position the pick-up tool at a selected angular orientation in a horizontal plane, by turning the tool  40  about the axis  54 . 
     The tool  40  has an array of supporting fingers  56  to lift from the cleats conveyor  16  a plurality of pouches simultaneously. In a specific example, the number of pouches that are picked up in a single stroke of the robotic arm  20  with the pick-up tool  40  correspond to the number of pouches that fit in a single row of the case  42 . In the example shown in the drawings, that would be  8  pouches, but of course that can vary depending on the size of the case  42 . The individual fingers  56  are spaced apart to line up with the gaps  28  between the tabs  26  of the cleats conveyor  16 . Accordingly, when the pick-up tool will insert the array of supporting fingers through the tabs, the fingers enter under the pouches that are held in the upright position between the cleats  24 . The sequence of movements to extract the pouches from the cleats conveyor  16  will be discussed below. 
     Note that the array of supporting fingers is arranged to lie in a generally horizontal plane. The fingers are mounted to a frame  61  which in turn is mounted to an actuator  63  to move the frame  61  and the array of supporting fingers  56  back and forth along the direction shown by the axis  65 .  FIGS.  6  and  7    show the array of supporting fingers  56  moved in the retracted position, where the fingers are underneath the tool  40 . In  FIG.  9   , the actuator  63  is extended and the fingers  56  are moved laterally. The actuator is preferably a pneumatic actuator but can be another kind of actuator such as an electric one.. 
     Above the fingers  56  is located a gripping device  58  that includes two pairs of jaws in a spaced apart relationship. The gripping device includes a first pair of jaws  62  and  64  that are opposite and face each other and a second pair of jaws  66 ,  68  that face each other. The jaws  66 ,  68  are mounted to actuators that can move the jaws  66 ,  68  toward and away from each other. 
     The robotic cell has a computerized control system, including one or more processors that receive inputs from a range of different sensors that may include position sensors to generate signals controlling the movement of the robotic arm including the pick-up tool  40  and the cleats conveyor  18  and the case support  18 . A block diagram of the computerized control system is shown in  FIG.  10   . 
     The computerized control system has a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  70  that executes software comprising individual instructions. The CPU  70  receives sensors input  72  via a suitable interface  74 . As indicated earlier, the sensors input  72  collectively designate the outputs of a range of sensors including:
         1) Position sensors or switches.   2) A camera sensor that can be placed on the robotic arm  20 , in particular on the pick-up tool  40 . The camera sensor provides an image data flow that the CPU  70  processed to perform image recognition in order to identify objects of interest in the image.   3) Operational condition of the cleats conveyor  16 , in particular a condition indicating that a sufficient number of pouches are available for pick-up by the pick-up tool  40 ;   4) Operational condition of the case support  18 , for example indicating that an empty case is loaded and available to receive the pouches therein.       

     On the basis of the sensor inputs  72  the CPU generates actuator outputs to move the robotic arm  20 , including the pick-up tool  40  and also to control the movement of the cleats conveyor  16  and the case support  18 . The actuator outputs and other control signals are output via an interface  76 . 
     The robotic cell operates as follows. 
     Assume the cleats conveyor  16  is loaded with at least  8  pouches that have been picked up from the positioning conveyor  30 . The  8  pouches are held between the individual cleats  24  and laterally held in the cleats conveyor  16  by the lateral support tabs  26 . The control system issues a control signal for the cleats conveyor  16  to stop to allow the robotic arm  20  to pick up the pouches. Alternatively, the robotic arm  20  may be synchronized with the movement of the cleats conveyor  16  and laterally move with the cleats conveyor  16  such as to perform the pouch pick up without the necessity of the cleats conveyor  16  stopping. 
     The pouch pick-up operation is initiated by setting up the pick-up tool into a condition in which it can engage the pouches without interference with the slats  24 . First, the fingers are shifted sideways by the pneumatic actuator  63  to clear the space between the jaws  62 - 68 . This is best shown at  FIG.  9   . The fingers  56  are laterally offset with relation to the jaws  62 - 68  thus allowing to lower the pick-up tool including the jaws  62 - 69  on the cleats conveyor  16  such that the first pair of jaws  62 - 64  will be on each lateral side of the cleats  24  while each of the jaws  66 - 68  will fit between two adjacent cleats. Since the jaws  66 - 68  are relatively thin, then can be inserted between two adjacent cleats even though there is a pouch present. The fingers  56  are laterally offset sufficiently such that their tips clear the cleats conveyor  16 . The insertion movement above is made by aligning the fingers  56  with the gaps  28  between the tabs  28 . The alignment can be done by locating the pick-up tool using some sort of reference mark on the cleats conveyor  16  that can be identified via image recognition such that the fingers  56  are in the proper position and will not interfere with the tabs  26 . Once the proper alignment of the fingers  56  and the gaps  28  has been achieved and the lowering movement that positions the jaws  62 - 68  on the cleats conveyor  16  is effected, the fingers  56  are advanced laterally by the actuator  63  such that the fingers  56  penetrate the space between the cleats  24  and enter under the pouches held between the cleats  24 . The depth of the fingers  56  should be sufficient to support the pouches sufficiently and avoid they fall off. It is not necessary for the fingers to have the same length as the width of the pouches (as measured transversally to the movement of the cleats  24 ). Advantageously, the fingers should have a length that does not exceed the width of the pouches to facilitate the release of the pouches in the case and the retraction of the pick-up tool  40  from the case. 
     The pick-up tool  40  in a position to hold and lift up the pouches from the cleats conveyor  16  is shown at  FIG.  7   . 
     After the fingers  56  fully support the pouches from below, the robotic arm lifts the pick-up tool  40  up such that the fingers  56  will lift up the  8  pouches. The jaws  62 - 68  then move to the closed position in which they are brought closer to the pack of pouches such as to more firmly engage them and avoid that a pouch falls off from the pick-up tool  40 . 
     Note it is also possible to provide the jaws with  66 ,  68  with actuators to bring them closer somewhat and gather the pouches for increased stability while the pouches are being carried by the pick-up tool. 
     The robotic arm then moves the pick-up tool  40  over the over the case  42  and aligns the pick-up tool such that the  8  pouches are above the row  1 . The robotic arm then lowers the pick-up tool  40  until the fingers  56  engage the bottom wall  46  of the case. The pick-up tool  40  is then operated to laterally move the fingers  56  such they acquire the position as shown in  FIG.  9   . In that position the fingers  56  release the pouches which sit on the bottom wall  46 . The jaws  62 - 68  open and the pick-up tool is lifted up from the case  42 . It should be appreciated that the lateral motion of the fingers  56 , from the position shown in  FIG.  7    to the one in position  9  is possible as the row  2  is empty and there is no interference. 
     The operation is then repeated to fill row  2  with pouches. The operation is performed in the same way with row  1 , since row  3  is empty and provides enough space for the fingers to retract there and then the pick-up tool  40  be lifted and extracted from the case  42 . 
     However, the operation for row  3  is different as there is no more space in the case  42  to retract the fingers  56 . In this case the pick-up tool  40  is not inserted into the case  42 , instead it is maintained above the rows  1  and  2  of pouches. In particular, the pick-up tool  40  is positioned such that the pack of pouches held by the pick-up tool  40  is aligned with empty space or row  3 . The fingers  56  are then retracted to put the pick-up tool  40  in the position shown in  FIG.  9    allowing the pouches to fall down into the case  42 . However, the pouches of row  2  and the sides of the case  42  continue to guide the pouches as they fall down to prevent them from tipping over, thus the pouches maintain their upright orientation, thus completing the filling of the case  42 . 
     The case  42  can then be moved off the support  18 , closed and shipped to the retailer. At the retailer location the case  42  is opened, for instance the panels forming the top wall can be cut-off leaving only the side walls and bottom wall of the case  42  in which the pouches are held in three rows and in the upright position. The pouches are thus neatly aligned and can be easily picked up by the consumer.