Abstract:
The present invention provides a packaging apparatus for gripping, lifting, and then moving a plurality of individual products from a first location to a second location. The apparatus includes first and second plates and a plurality of individual grippers that are each selectively actuated to grip a single product and to release the product at a preselected time. Each gripper includes a plurality of slots extending upwardly from the base of each gripper, thereby providing a plurality of gripper fingers. Each gripper extends through an appropriately configured hole in the second plate into a fixed engagement with the first plate. The second plate is movably mounted to the first plate such that it can be moved relatively thereto. The holes in the second plate are sized to engage the gripper fingers when moved apart from the first plate. As the plates continue to move apart, the continuing camming engagement between the second plate and the gripper will cause the gripper fingers to be moved inwardly into a gripping engagement with the products.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the packaging industry and specifically to apparatus useful for placing containers within their shipping packaging. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The product packaging industry has been prolific in the invention of new and useful devices for packaging the wide variety of products produced in varying sizes, shapes, and weights. Broadly speaking, one such industry where automated product packaging equipment is used is in the wide variety of businesses that sell fluid products in containers typically no larger than a gallon in size. Examples of such products are beverages, including but not limited to soft drinks and milk, automotive products, such as antifreeze, oil, and windshield cleaner, and cleaners, such as bleach, ammonia, and other well known examples. 
     The common thread of these businesses is the use of a container, typically plastic but occasionally glass, to hold a fluid. Such containers take many forms, but generally have a body portion which holds the fluid, a neck and a cap. The body portions are generally cylindrical (as with many soft drink containers), square (as with one-gallon milk containers), or rectangular (as with several forms of antifreeze containers and fruit juice containers), though other regular configurations could also be used. 
     A review of the prior art shows that many and varied types of packaging machines and related equipment have been invented to package the containers. These typically involve quite complicated and quite expensive gearing and camming apparatus used to grasp one or more of the containers, move them to a pre-determined location, and then place them within the appropriate package for transport. Repairs on such machines are often time consuming, resulting in the shut down of production lines. It would be desirable to have packaging apparatus that was simpler in operation and that did not need the complicated machinery of prior art devices, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency in the packaging operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus that is not subject to the foregoing disadvantages. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved packaging machine useful for packing fluid containers into a transport carton. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved packaging machine that utilizes a plurality of grippers each having a plurality of fingers, with each gripper being substantially simultaneously activated to grip the rim of a container. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a gripper having a unitary structure that enables easy and rapid replacement when needed. 
     The foregoing objects of the present invention are provided by a packaging apparatus for gripping, lifting, and then moving a plurality of individual products from a first location to a second location. The apparatus includes first and second substantially parallel plates and a plurality of individual grippers that are collectively, selectively actuated to grip a single product and to release the product at a preselected time. Each gripper includes an attachment portion and a camming and gripping portion having a configuration substantially akin to a conic section. A plurality of relief slots extend upwardly from the base of each gripper, thereby providing a plurality of gripper fingers. Each gripper extends through an appropriately configured hole in the second plate into a fixed engagement with the first plate. The second plate is movably mounted to the first plate such that it can be moved relatively thereto while maintaining the substantial parallel relationship of the two plates. The holes in the second plate are sized to receive comfortably the attachment portion of each gripper but are also sized to engage the conic section portion thereof when moved apart from the first plate. As the plates continue to move apart, the continuing camming engagement between the second plate and the gripper will cause the gripper fingers to be moved inwardly into a gripping engagement with the products. 
     The foregoing objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. Throughout the drawings, like numerals refer to similar or identical parts. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packaging machine or apparatus in accord with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a gripper apparatus in accord with the present invention is a side elevation, partial perspective view. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a gripper in accord with the present invention in a perspective view. 
     FIG. 4 depicts the gripper illustrated in FIG. 3 in a top plan view. 
     FIG. 5 shows the gripper illustrated in FIG. 3 in a bottom plan view. 
     FIG. 6A shows a portion of the packaging sequence in accord with the present invention wherein a gripper has been lowered into a gripping position relative to a container. 
     FIG. 6B shows a continuation of the packaging sequence wherein the gripping plate has been lowered relative to the gripper causing it to grip the container. 
     FIGS. 7A,  7 B,  7 C and  7 D illustrate a packaging sequence in accord with the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 illustrates in a top plan view an alternative embodiment of a gripper in accord with the present invention wherein the gripper slots are spaced varying distances apart. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A packaging machine  10  in accord with the present invention is shown in FIG.  1 . It will be understood that such a machine could take numerous forms in accord with the invention and that the embodiment shown herein is one such form. It will be seen that the packing machine  10  includes a frame  12  comprising a plurality of legs or supports  14  with the appropriately configured levelers  16  attached thereto for leveling the packaging machine  10 . Frame  12  further includes a pair of overhead, substantially horizontally extending supports  18 , each support  18  extending between a pair of legs  14 . Supports  18  and legs  14  can be made of any appropriate material, such as steel. 
     The frame  12  provides support for the various apparatus used to convey, position, pick up, and place one or more bottles into a package, and then convey the package away from the packaging machine  10 . Thus, a pair of appropriately sized feed conveyors  20 , one of which is partially shown and the other which is not shown, is used to feed containers  22  into the packaging machine  10  as indicated by arrow  24 . Because of the multitude of ways of feeding such containers into a packaging machine presently known in the art, it will be understood that the containers  22  could be brought to the packaging machine  10  in any such known manner consistent with the operation of the present invention. 
     A packaging machine  10  in accord with the present invention may include one or more devices or apparatus to properly position the containers  22  for pickup and placement. Thus, the packaging machine  10  shown in the Figure may include one or more movable pistons for moving and positioning the containers  22 . As shown, the containers  22  are fed into the packaging machine  10  into a pair of feed channels  26  disposed on opposing sides of the machine  10 . The channels  26  may be formed in any known way and may be formed of any known material. In one embodiment of the present invention and as shown in the Figure the channels  26  include a pair of side walls  28  and a channel bed  30 , all of which may be formed from stainless steel, by way of example only. The conveyors  20  feed the containers  22  into a positioning and pickup area generally indicated at  32 . 
     Once in the positioning and pickup area  32 , the containers  22  will be moved by one or more pistons or plungers into the proper position for pickup and placement into a container, box, or other transportation carton. As shown in the Figure, the packaging machine  10  includes a pair of side plungers  34  activated in any known manner such as by one or more air, hydraulic, and/or electrical cylinders  36 , the hose connections being omitted for purposes of clarity. Side plungers  34  will engage the containers  22  with a push plate  38  after the containers have been fed into the area  32  and will be pushed toward the center of the area  32 . Depending upon the configuration of the containers  22 , such as where they are substantially cylindrical in configuration as shown in the Figure, another plunger may be required to create a staggered arrangement of containers for packing efficiency. It will be understood that where such a staggered arrangement is not required, then the additional plunger may not be necessary. As shown in the Figure, however, the packaging machine  10  includes a third position plunger  40  including a push plate  44 , which is also activated by one or more air, hydraulic, and/or electrical cylinders  42 . When activated, the cylinders  44  will cause the push plate  42  to engage the containers  22  and properly position them for pickup. The push plate  42  can be configured as desired to accommodate the configuration of the containers  22  and the need to position them for packing efficiency. 
     In operation, the conveyors  20  will feed containers  22  into the packaging machine  10  and, with the plungers  34  and  40  in the withdrawn position as shown in FIG. 1, against the back stop plate  45 . The side plungers will be activated and each will push a row of containers toward the center of the machine  10  and the pickup area  32 . This will continue until the proper number of containers have been brought into the machine for packaging. At that time the plungers  34  and  40  will be activated to push the containers into the final position for pickup. It will be understood that such sequences of actions are well known in the art and that they will vary depending upon the configuration and number of containers to be packaged. 
     Sensors, such as an infrared sensor  46 , may be used to count or otherwise sense the containers as they pass. Additional sensors such as a knife blade sensor  48  may also be used to trigger the operation of the conveyors  20  and the plungers  34  and  40 . It will be understood that the operation of all of the various component parts of the packaging machine  10  can be controlled by an appropriated programmed microprocessor or other computing device, which is not shown for purposes of clarity. Representative examples of such machines and the foregoing equipment are sold by the assignee of the present invention. 
     Once the containers  22  have been properly positioned to be picked up for packaging, the containers will be picked as a group using the gripper apparatus  50 . Gripper apparatus  50  is movable in a vertical direction and will be lowered into a picking position relative to the pre-positioned containers  22 . The gripper apparatus  50  will then grasp the containers and a pair of doors  52  disposed beneath the containers  22  will open. The gripper apparatus  50  will be lowered such that the containers as group are placed within the appropriately configured package  54 . The filled package  54  can then be conveyed away from the packaging machine  10  as indicated by arrow  56  using a conveyor  58 . 
     The principal components of the packaging machine  10  having been set forth, the gripper apparatus  50  will be described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 2-6 principally. Gripper apparatus  50  will be seen to comprise a pair of substantially planar, substantially parallel, spaced apart plates  60  and  62 . Plates  60  and  62  are movable relative to each other as indicated by double headed arrow  63 . Thus, the lower plate  62  is mounted to a plurality of lift rods  64 , each of which includes a threaded end  66  that is received by a threaded hole  68  in the lower plate  62 . The lift rods  64  each extend through a through hole  70  and a bearing  71  in the plate  60  and into engagement with a lift bar  72 , which as seen in FIG. 1 engages a pair of lift rods  64 . The lift bars  72  are mounted to a means  74  for producing reciprocal vertical movement, which may be an air cylinder or a linear actuator or similar type of device, the economies of preparing and filing an application preventing the illustration of all such known, equivalent devices. Such devices  74  will typically include a plunger  76  that is attached to the lift bar  72 . Devices  74  in turn are mounted to the upper surface  78  of the lower plate  62  by any known means, including bolting, welding, or the like. Thus, actuation of the devices  74  will cause the shaft  76  thereof to either extend or retract as the case may be, carrying along therewith the lift bars  72  and lift rods  64 , and thereby raising or lowering the lower plate  62  relative to the upper plate  60 , respectively. 
     The upper plate  60  is attached to a plurality of spacer bars  80 , which in turn extend into a fixed engagement with a gripper apparatus lift plate  82 . The plate  82  in turn is attached to a pair of guide rods  84  and a hollow tube  86  within which an air, hydraulic, and/or electrical cylinder  87  is disposed. That is, one end of the guide rods  84  engage the plate  82  and they extend upwardly therefrom through the appropriately configured through holes in a support frame  88 . The cylinder  87  is attached to the support frame  88 . The support frame  88  is in turn attached to a plurality of support rails  90  that are attached to the overhead support bars  18  by yokes  92 . 
     The first plate  60  may include a plurality of holes  94  capable of receiving the shaft  96  of a bolt  98 . Bolt  98  may be used to attach a gripper  100  to the first plate. Each gripper  100 , best seen in FIGS. 3-5, extends through an appropriately sized and configured aperture  102  in the second plate  62 . 
     Gripper  100 , as shown in the embodiment in the Figures, is a unitary structure and has a substantially cylindrical attachment portion  104  and a substantially conic exterior camming portion  106 . The attachment portion  104  includes a substantially centrally disposed through hole  108  configured to receive the bolt  98 . The camming portion  106  includes a plurality of slots  110  that extend from the bottom edge  112  of the gripper  100  upwardly toward the attachment portion  104 . The slots  110  create a plurality of inwardly and outwardly flexing fingers  114 . In the embodiment shown, the slots  110  are regularly spaced about the gripper  100  thereby creating a plurality of equally sized fingers. It will be understood, however, by those skilled in the art that the slots need not be regularly spaced about the gripper  100 . That is, the slots  110  could be placed at any desired interval or spacing desired, thereby creating fingers of unequal size, so long as the gripping function of the gripper was unimpaired. Thus, as seen in FIG. 8, which is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of a gripper  100 , the slots  110  are shown spaced at varying distances from each other. 
     Because the fingers can be flexed inwardly, the exertion of a pressure on the outer surface  116  of the camming portion  106  will cause the fingers  114  to move inwardly; a release of that pressure then will allow the natural elastic bias of the material forming the fingers  114  to return to the fingers their rest or undeformed state as seen in FIG.  3 . 
     The camming portion  106  includes an interior surface  118  and a circumferentially extending, inwardly extending interference/stop lip  120  having a container lid engaging surface  122 . The stop lip  120  is disposed below the upper end  124  of the slots  110 . 
     As best seen in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the gripper  100  also includes a gripper lip  126  formed by an inwardly extending lip at the bottom thereof. The gripper lip includes an upper surface  128  and has an inner diameter d g . The gripper  100  is, as best seen in FIGS. 6A and 6B, used to grip a container  22 . It will be observed that the container  22  includes a circumferentially extending, outwardly extending rim  130  having a diameter d c , less than gripper lip  124  diameter d g , that is, 
       d   c   &lt;d   g . 
     That is, for a particular container having such a rim  130 , the diameter d g  of the gripper lip will be larger than the diameter d c  of such a rim  130 . 
     In operation, as best seen in FIGS. 6A-7D, when a plurality of containers  22  is properly positioned for pickup and placement in a carton  54 , the gripper apparatus  50  will be lowered through the operation of the cylinder  87  until the gripper lip  126  is disposed below the rim  130 . To prevent the gripper apparatus  50  from being lowered too far, the caps or lids  132  will engage the surface  122  of the interference/stop lip  120 . It will be seen that the upper surface  128  and the interference/stop surface  122  define a distance l g  and that the upper surfaces  134  of the lids and the bottom of the rims  130  define a distance l c , 
     wherein 
     
       
           l   c   &lt;l   g . 
       
     
     Once positioned over the containers as seen in FIG. 6A, the lower plate  62  will be lowered from its rest position  136  shown in FIG.  6 A and in phantom in FIG. 6B relative to the upper plate  60  through the retraction of the plunger  76  of the air, hydraulic, and/or electrical cylinders  74 . This lowering of the plate  60  will cause the inner edge  138  of the through hole  102  in plate  62  to engage the camming surface  116  of the gripper  100 , forcing the fingers  114  inwardly. As the fingers  114  are forced inwardly, the upper surface  128  will engage the underside of the rim  130  as best seen in FIG.  6 B. 
     Having grasped the containers  22  with the grippers  100 , the doors  52  will be opened (FIG. 7B) and the entire gripper apparatus  50  will be lowered so as to place the containers  22  within the carton  54  (FIG. 7C) through the use of the cylinder  87 . Once the containers have been placed within the carton, the lower plate  62  will be raised relative to the upper plate  60 , thus allowing the fingers  114  to return to their rest position shown in FIG.  6 A and thus releasing the grip on the containers. The gripper apparatus  50  will then be withdrawn, the full carton will be conveyed away, and the doors  52  will be closed so as to enable a new set of containers to be positioned for placement within the next carton. 
     Gripper  100  may be made of a synthetic material. An example of such a material is Nylatron®, a material manufactured by DSM Engineering Plastics. Other materials such as a spring steel or a hard rubber may also suffice to form the gripper  100 . 
     The present invention having thus been described, other modifications, alterations, or substitutions may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, all of which are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the containers shown in the Figures are substantially cylindrical in configuration and include around neck with the round gripping lip. Consequently, the grippers are configured to conform to that round gripping lip. Obviously, the containers could have any other configuration, such as a substantially square configuration with the circular neck as is commonly found on plastic milk bottles or a rectangular configuration with a round neck as is found on other liquid containers, such as antifreeze or fruit juice. In addition, the container neck itself need not be round. That is, the container neck could have other configurations, such as square, pentagonal, hexagonal, septagonal, octagonal, or other multi-sided configuration and the gripper would likewise have a gripper lip having a conforming configuration with a plurality of fingers equal to the number of sides of the rim of the container. It will be understood, however, that as the number of sides on the container rim increases the rim more closely approaches an overall circular configuration and the gripper  100  would find use with such a rim while maintaining the overall configuration as shown in the drawings. 
     In addition, the outer surface of the gripper  100  need not be circular in cross-section, but could adopt any other configuration with the inner edge  138  of through hole  102  appropriately configured. That is, it will be understood that, broadly speaking, the outer surface of the gripper  100  provides a symmetric cross-section. As shown, that cross-section would be circular. Nevertheless, the outer surface of gripper  100  could have other configurations, such as square, pentagonal, hexagonal, or greater. Such configurations are within the scope of the present invention, as are irregular, non-symmetric configurations. If the gripper  100  is so configured, the camming plate  62  camming apertures  102  would be similarly configured. In addition, the gripper  100  could have a uniform configuration along its entire extent, such as all cylindrical or all square, etc.; that is, that the attachment portion and camming portion could have the same configuration. 
     Another modification within the scope of the present invention is that the plates  60  and  62  need not have substantially planar upper and lower surfaces as shown. Any configuration that would allow uniform and substantially simultaneous application of pressure to the fingers  114  of the grippers  100  is within the scope of the present invention. 
     Finally, the present invention as shown includes a gripper  100  having six fingers  114  useful in gripping a round container rim. More or less fingers could be provided by additional or fewer slots  110  and such a gripper  100  would be within the scope of the present invention. 
     The foregoing and other modifications to the present invention will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art Therefore, it is intended that the present invention be limited only by the scope of the attached claims below.