MORAN, Robert John (63 Bassett Street, Mona Vale, New South Wales 2103, AU)
THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Apparatus for forming a container from a container blank, the blank having a base, first and second wall portions and a catch device extending from the first wall portion for connecting to a corresponding portion on the second wall portion such that the wall portions form first and second sidewalls of the container, the apparatus comprising: a support configured, when the blank is in a pre-assembled condition where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base, to support the catch device against the second wall portion; and a fold device configured to fold a part of the second wall portion upon itself and over the catch device to enable the catch device to cooperate with the corresponding portion of the second wall portion, wherein the support inhibits the catch device from buckling when the first portion is being folded thereover.
2. The apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the support is moveable with respect to the fold device and/or the container.
3. The apparatus of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the support is moveable, when the blank is in the pre-assembled condition, between a first position, away from the blank, and a second position against the catch device supporting the catch device against the second wall portion.
4. The apparatus of Claim 3, wherein the support is configured to turn the catch device from the plane of the first wall portion to a position against the second wall portion when moving from the first position to the second position.
5. The apparatus of Claim 3 or 4, wherein the support is configured to be removed from the container, once the second wall portion has been folded upon itself, to a third position being different to the first position.
6. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the corresponding portion of the container comprises an opening in the second wall portion, an end of the catch device passing into the opening when the second wall portion is folded.
7. The apparatus of Claim 6, wherein the support is configured such that, when in its second position, an end thereof corresponding to the catch device end passes into the opening of the corresponding portion when the second wall portion is folded.
8. The apparatus of Claim 7, wherein the support is configured such that the support end is removed from the opening when moved from the second position to the third position.
9. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a folding assembly to fold the blank into the pre-assembled condition, where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base.
10. The apparatus of Claim 9, wherein the folding assembly comprises a folding chamber and a folding ram.
11. The apparatus of Claim 10, wherein the fold device is disposed on the folding ram.
12. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a receptacle for holding a plurality of the container blanks and a device for simultaneously feeding individual container blanks to the folding assembly.
13. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fold device comprises a roll-over device.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the roll-over device comprises a clamping portion for biasing the part of the second wall portion upon itself, preferably to complete the folding of the part of the second wall portion.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the clamping portion comprises a slotted member.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the clamping device is rotatable relative to the support during the folding of the folded part of the second wall portion.
17. The apparatus of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the clamping device is translatable relative to the support during the folding of the folded part of the second wall portion.
18. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blank comprises a pair of opposed said first wall portions, a pair of opposed said second wall portions and two or more said catch devices, the apparatus including two or more said supports and a respective said fold device corresponding to each of said supports, wherein each support is configured to support a respective one of the catch devices.
19. A method for forming a container from a container blank, the blank having a base, first and second wall portions and a catch device extending from the first wall portion for connecting to a corresponding portion on the second wall portion such that the wall portions form first and second sidewalls of the container, the method including the steps of: when the blank is in a pre-assembled condition where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base, supporting the catch device against the second wall portion, and folding a part of the second wall portion upon itself and over the catch device to enable the catch device to cooperate with the corresponding portion of the second wall portion, wherein the catch device is supported such that it is prevented from buckling during the folding step.
20. The method of Claim 19, wherein the supporting step includes moving a support from a non-support position having no contact with the catch device portion, to a support position having contact with the catch device portion, and wherein the support is maintained in the support position during the folding step.
21. The method of Claim 19 or 20, wherein prior to the support step, the support is moved from a first position away from the blank to a second position against the catch device supporting the catch device against the second wall portion.
22. The method of Claim 21, wherein when the support moves from the first position to the second position, the support turns the catch device from the plane of the first wall portion to a position against the second wall portion.
23. The method of Claim 21 or 22, wherein after the folding step, the support is removed from the container to a third position being different to the first position.
24. The method of Claim 21 or 22, wherein, after the folding step, the container is removed from the support.
25. The method any one of Claims 19 to 24, wherein the corresponding portion of the container comprises an opening in the second wall portion, and, during the folding step, an end of the catch device is passed into the opening when the second wall portion is folded.
26. The method of Claim 25, wherein during the folding step, an end of the support corresponding to the catch device end passes into the opening of the corresponding portion when the second wall portion is folded.
27. The method of Claim 25 or 26, wherein after the folding step, the support end is removed from the opening when moved from the second position to the third position.
28. The method of any one of Claims 19 to 27, wherein, prior to the support step, the blank is folded into the pre-assembled condition, where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base.
29. A container formed from the method of any one of Claims 19 to 28.
30. Apparatus and method for forming a container, the apparatus and method substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 2a to 5 C and 7A to 10 of the accompanying drawings. |
SUPPORTING EXTENSIONS WHEN FOLDING WALLS OF CONTAINER
Technical Field
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for forming containers and to containers formed from such apparatus and methods.
Background Art
Containers such as cardboard containers are well known in the art. Some cardboard containers are formed manually from container blanks which are often made available in a flat configuration, where fold lines are provided for a person to fold the blank into a container. One example of such containers is the "TrayBon™" cardboard container made by TrayBon Bakery Pkg. Sys., a Division of AMCOR Ltd. While the TrayBon™ container is available in several size configurations, all configurations have a rectangular base and four sidewalls extending upwardly from the perimeter of the base.
An example of one configuration of a TrayBon™ container blank 10 for forming into a container is illustrated in Figure 1, showing a base 11, a first pair of opposed wall portions 12a,b and a second pair of opposed wall portions 14a,b, and interlocking devices, comprising male tabs 16a,b and corresponding slots 18a,b, the male tabs 16a,b extending from ends 20a,b of the first pair of wall portions 12a,b. An open container can be formed from the blank 10 by turning wall portions 12a,b and 14a,b on their respective fold lines 22a,b and 23a,b such that the male tabs 16a,b fold behind wall portions 14a,b, respectively. Wall portions 14a,b are then respectively folded on fold lines 24a,b outwardly upon themselves and over the folded male tabs 16a,b. When the wall portions 14a,b are folded upon themselves, an extension 26a,b of each of male tabs 16a,b is forced through corresponding slots 18a,b on the wall portions 14a,b to interlock the tabs 16a,b with the wall portions. To do so, a distal part 28a,b of wall portions 14a,b must be extended over their respective male tab extensions 24a,b. In practice, this can lead to undesired buckling of the male tabs 16a,b, resulting in a less effective or ineffective interlock between the tabs 16a,b and the slots 18a,b.
Summary of the Invention
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for forming a container from a container blank, the blank having a base, first and second wall portions and a catch device extending from the first wall portion for connecting to a corresponding portion on the second wall portion such that the wall portions form first and second sidewalls of the container, the apparatus comprising: a support configured, when the blank is in a pre-assembled condition where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base, to support the catch device against the second wall portion; and a fold device configured to fold a part of the second wall portion upon itself and over the catch device to enable the catch device to cooperate with the corresponding portion of the second wall portion, wherein the support inhibits the catch device from buckling when the first portion is being folded thereover.
Advantageously, by providing a support to support the catch device when the second wall is folded upon itself and over the catch device, undesired buckling of the catch device is prevented. For example, this can allow for automated forming of a container from a container blank, where prior art forming was performed manually. The support can be movable with respect to the fold device and/or the container. Further, the support can be movable, when the blank is in the preassembled condition, between a first position, away from the blank, and a second position against the catch device supporting the catch device against the second wall portion.
The support can be configured to turn the catch device from the plane of the first wall portion to a position against the second wall portion when moving from the first position to the second position. Also, the support can be configured to be removed from the container, once the second wall portion has been folded upon itself, to a third position being different to the first position. Alternatively, the third position is the same as the first position. The corresponding portion of the container may comprise an opening in the wall portion, such that an end of the catch device may pass into the opening when the second wall portion is folded. The support can be configured such that, when in its
second position, an end thereof corresponding to the catch device end passes in to the opening of the corresponding portion when the second wall portion is folded. The support may be configured such that the support end is removed from the opening when moved from the second position into the third position. The apparatus may further comprise a folding assembly to fold the blank into the preassembled condition, where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base. The folding assembly may comprise a folding chamber and folding ram. The fold device may be disposed on the folding ram. The apparatus may further comprise a receptacle for holding a plurality of the container blanks and a device for simultaneously feeding individual container blanks to the folding assembly. The fold device may comprise a roll-over device.
Optionally, the roll-over device may comprise a clamping portion for biasing the part of the second wall portion upon itself preferably to complete the folding of the part of the second wall portion. The clamping portion may comprise a slotted member. In one arrangement, the clamping device is rotatable relative to the support during the folding of the folded part of the second wall portion. In another arrangement, the clamping device is translatable relative to the support during the folding of the folded part of the second wall portion. The clamping portion may aid in finishing the folding of the part of the second wall portion by at least briefly holding the part of the second wall upon itself.
The roll-over device may comprise a rotatable portion configured to rotate during the folding of the folded part of the second wall portion.
Optionally, the blank comprises a pair of opposed said first wall portions, a pair of opposed said second wall portions and two or more said catch devices. Optionally, the apparatus includes two or more said supports and a respective said fold device corresponding to each of said supports, wherein each support is configured to support a respective one of the catch devices.
The blank may comprise a pair of opposed said first wall portions, a pair of opposed said second wall portions and two or more said catch devices. In this case, the apparatus may include two or more said supports and a respective said fold device corresponding to each of said supports, wherein each support is configured to support a respective one of the catch devices. The catch devices may be in the form of male tabs
and the corresponding portion may be in the form of a slot or other aperture, indentation or complementary catch device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for forming a container from a container blank, the blank having a base, first and second wall portions and a catch device extending from the first wall portion for connecting to a corresponding portion on the second wall portion such that the wall portions form first and second sidewalls of the container, the method including the steps of: when the blank is in a pre-assembled condition where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base, supporting the catch device against the second wall portion, and folding a part of the second wall portion upon itself and over the catch device to enable the catch device to cooperate with the corresponding portion of the second wall portion, wherein the catch device is supported such that it is prevented from buckling during the folding step.
The supporting step may include moving a support from a non-support position having no contact with the catch device portion to a support position having contact with the catch device portion, the support being maintained in the support position during the folding step. The method may comprise the step, prior to the support step, of the support being moved from a first position away from the blank to a second position against the catch device supporting the catch device against the second wall portion. When the support moves from the first position to the second position, the support can turn the catch device from the plane of the first wall portion to a position against the second wall portion. The method may also comprise the step, after the folding step, of the support being removed from the container to a third position being different to the first position. In an alternative arrangement, the third position may be the same as the first position.
In yet another arrangement, after the following step, the container may be removed from the support. During the folding step, an end of the support corresponding to the catch device end can pass into the opening of the corresponding portion when the second wall portion is folded. After the folding step, the support end may be removed from the
opening when moved from the second position to the third position. Alternatively, after the folding step, the container may be removed from the support.
The method may also comprise the step, prior to the support step, of the blank being folded into the preassembled condition, where the first and second wall portions are turned out of the plane of the base.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a container formed from the steps of the abovementioned method aspect.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a prior art container blank; Figures 2A to C illustrate side and front elevations and a plan view, respectively, of container forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figures 3, 4 and 5A to C illustrate various side elevations of the apparatus of Figures 2 A to C and some steps of a preferred embodiment of a method according to the present invention; Figure 6 illustrates a plan view of another container blank;
Figures 7A to C illustrate side and front elevations and a plan view, respectively, of container forming apparatus according to another embodiment; and
Figures 8 and 9 illustrate detailed plan views of components of the apparatus in use, with a roll-over mechanism illustrated; and Figure 10 illustrates a detailed plan view of components of the apparatus in use, with the roll-over mechanism removed for clarity.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Referring to Figures 2 A to C, a preferred embodiment comprises an apparatus for forming a container from a container blank such as the blank 10 illustrated in Figure 1 and described above with respect to the prior art. The apparatus comprises a
receptacle in the form of a magazine 30 for holding a plurality of blanks 10. A device comprising pneumatic arms 32 is provided for feeding consecutive individual blanks 10 to a folding assembly 34. As illustrated in Figures 2a,c and 3, a folding ram 36 is configured to push a blank 10 into a forming chamber 38 to form the blanks 10 into a preassembled condition where wall portions 12a,b and 14a,b are turned out of the plane of the base 11 to define two opposed wall pairs. In the preassembled condition, the opposed wall pairs are held in position by walls of the forming chamber, however the tabs 16a,b remain in the plane of their corresponding wall portions 12a,b.
Referring to Figure 4, a support in the form of support blades 40a,b are provided to support the tabs 16a,b against respective wall portions 14a,b. In this embodiment, the support blades 40 also act to fold the tabs 16a,b from the plane of wall portions 12a,b to be against wall portions 14a,b. This action is described in more detail below. The support blades 40a,b are typically rigid and cut from a planar metal material, however they may be made or formed from any suitable rigid material, such as rigid polymers, and the like. In this embodiment, the support blades 40a,b have been formed to have an edge 41 shaped to complement a leading edge 46 of the tabs 16a,b. The number of support blades 40a,b in this embodiment corresponds to the number of tabs 16a,b, being four.
A fold device in the form of a roll-over mechanism 42, as illustrated in Figures 5A to C, is provided to fold the distal part 28 of the walls 14a,b over the tabs 16a,b and the support blades 40. During folding, the tab extensions 26a,b and complementary leading edges 46 of the support blades 40a,b pass through the slots 18a,b to form an interlock which maintains the side walls in an assembled condition, thus providing the final form of the container. Each roll-over mechanism 42 comprises a receiving portion in the form of a slot 43 for receiving a folded edge 45 of the folded blank 10. In this embodiment, two roll-over mechanisms 42a are provided to fold the distal part 28 of walls 14a, and two roll-over mechanisms 42a are provided to fold the distal part 28 of walls 14b. In alternative embodiments, more or fewer roll-over mechanisms may be employed. In this embodiment, the support blades 40 are movable between: a first position away from the blank, as illustrated by a support blade 40a' in Figure 4; a second position against the tabs 16a,b supporting the tab against the wall portion 14a,b,
as illustrated by support blade 40a" in Figure 4; and a third position away from the tabs 16a,b wherein the movement from the second to third position is such that an end 44 of the support blade 40a,b is withdrawn from the corresponding slot 18a,b.
An embodiment of a method for forming a container from the container blank 10 will now be described. A planar container blank 10 is moved by the pneumatic arms 32 from the magazine 30 to a position in front of the forming chamber 36 of the folding assembly 34. This position is illustrated by blank 10' in Figures 2 A to C and 3. The folding ram 38 then pushes the blank 10 into the forming chamber 36 to turn the wall portions 12a,b and 14a,b out of the plane of the base 11. The support blades 40a,b are then driven toward the preassembled container to support the tabs 16a,b against wall portion 14a,b. With this movement, the support blades 40a,b contact and turn the tabs 16a,b out of the corresponding planes of wall portions 12a,b. This is illustrated in Figure 4, where support blade 40a' is shown in a position prior to engaging tab 16a while support blade 40a" is shown in a position where the tab has been turned against wall portion 14a. Once all support blades 40a ? b are in position against their corresponding tabs 16a,b, the roll-over mechanisms 42 are actuated to rotate and fold the distal parts 28 of walls 14a,b over the support blades 40a,b. The beginning and end of this folding step by the roll-over mechanisms 42 is illustrated in Figures 5A and 5B respectively. Fold lines 24 of wall portions 12a,b are configured to be closer to the base 11 when compared with the end 46 of tab extensions 26a,b. This means that the distal parts 28a,b of wall portions 14a,b must be extended over the male tab extensions 24a,b as described previously. Whereas in the prior art this has led to undesired buckling of the tabs 16a,b, the support blades 40a,b support the tab extensions 26a,b and the tabs 16a,b to prevent buckling and to aid the extensions 26a,b to push through the slots 18a,b.
Once the wall portions 12a,b are folded upon themselves, the support blades are withdrawn from the now formed container 48 firstly in a direction away from the magazine 30 and then in a direction away from the container. The container 48 can then be ejected from the apparatus, as illustrated in Figures 2A and 3. As will be understood, while the invention has been described with reference to the container blank 10 illustrated in Figure 1, it may be simply adapted to form, in an automated manner, containers from blanks of other configurations having interlocking
configurations equivalent to the tab and slot configuration of the blank 10 of Figure 1.
An example of one alternative form of a container blank 110 is illustrated in
Figure 6, where like reference numerals denote like parts. For instance, the blank 110 comprises fold lines 124, slots 118, base 111, sidewalls 112a,b, 114a,b, tabs 116a,b, tab extensions 126a,b and leading edges 146 and so on. Another embodiment of a container forming apparatus is illustrated in Figures 7A to 10, where like reference numerals denote like parts, and is described below in reference to forming a container from the blank 110 illustrated in Figure 6. As will be understood, the apparatus illustrated in Figures 2A to 5C could be modified to form a container from the blank 110 of Figure 6 and the apparatus illustrated in Figures 7A to 10 could be modified to form a container from the blank 10 illustrated in Figure 1.
The blank 110 illustrated in Figure 6 can be formed into a container 148 using the same principles as the forming of the container 48 from the blank 10 described above with reference to the first mentioned embodiment, hi slight contrast to the container 48 described above, the container 148 illustrated in Figure 10 (and formed from the blank illustrated in Figure 6) has tapered wall portions 112,114 and relatively larger tabs 116a,b. As illustrated in Figure 10, ends 117 of the tabs 116a,b meet when folded in the plane of their corresponding wall portions 114.
The apparatus of this embodiment forms the container 148 in a similar manner to the apparatus of the first mentioned embodiment. In this regard, the apparatus of this embodiment also employs a magazine 130 for holding a plurality of blanks 110; a pneumatic arm 132 for retrieving individual blanks 110 from the magazine; a forming chamber 138; and a forming or folding ram 136 for pushing blanks 110 into the forming chamber 138 to form the blanks 110 into a preassembled condition. Referring to Figure 9, support blades 140a,b are also provided which provide a corresponding function to the support blades 40a,b of the first mentioned embodiment. The support blades 140a,b support tabs 116a,b of the blanks 110 against respective wall portions 114a,b. Each support blade 140a,b also has an edge 141 a,b which protrudes from its support blade 140a,b to support a corresponding leading edge 146 of the tab 116a,b to which it corresponds. The shape of the support blade 140a,b and edge 141 need not be closely identical to the shape of the support tabs 116a,b and leading edges 146 in either embodiment, and it is not in this embodiment, as is evident from Figure 9.
As illustrated in Figure 7C and in more detail in Figure 10, the support blades 140a,b are mounted to respective support blade arms 149a,b which are configured to move the support blades 140a,b on their axis to and from a support position where they fold the tabs 116a,b and support the tabs against their corresponding wall portions 114a,b. Figures 7C and 10 illustrate the support blade arms 149a,b in two alternate positions. Support blade arm 149a is positioned with its axis normal to the axis of the folding ram 136, and support blade arm 149b is positioned with its axis oblique to the axis of the folding ram 136. This illustrated arrangement has been provided for convenience to show two different configurations on one drawing. In practice, both arms 149a and 149b will either be positioned normal to the axis of the folding ram 136 or oblique thereto.
The present embodiment also comprises a fold device in the form of a roll-over mechanism 142, as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, which performs a function corresponding to the function of the roll-over mechanism 42 of the first described embodiment. The roll-over mechanism 142 of this embodiment is positioned on the folding ram 136, and is translatable between a disengaged position (indicated at A), where it is not engaged with the blank 110, and an engaged position (indicated at B), where it has folded distal parts 128 of the walls 114a,b over the support blades 140a,b. However, unlike the roll-over mechanism 42 of the first described embodiment, the roll- over mechanism 142 of this embodiment does not rotate in order to fold the distal parts 128 of the walls 114a,b over the support blades 140a,b. During the folding of the support tabs 116a,b against their corresponding wall portions 114a,b, the distal parts 128 of the walls 114a,b are bent slightly outwardly, as illustrated in dotted outline in Figure 9, during the action of ramming the blank 110 into the forming chamber 138. For example, during ramming, the roll-over mechanisms 142 may be in the engaged position such that as the sidewalls 114a,b are turned out of the plane of the base 111, the distal portions contact the roll-over mechanisms 142 to be further turned out of the plane of their corresponding sidewalls 114a,b. The roll-over mechanisms 142 are then returned to their disengaged position. Given the tapered orientation of the walls 114a,b and the initial turning out of the distal parts 128, further movement of the roll-over mechanism 142 from the disengaged position to the engaged position causes a rounded leading edge 150 of the roll-over mechanism to contact and outwardly push a
corresponding said distal part 114a,b of the walls 114a,b relative to the base 111. This in turn forces the distal part 128 over the tab 116a,b and supporting blade edge 141, and the folded edge 145 into the slot 143, thus forming the container 148. This non-rotating form of the roll-over mechanism 142 is useful in this embodiment given the container 148 to be formed has tapered sides. hi the first described embodiment, the support blades 40a,b are movable between first second and third positions, the third position being such that the respective ends 44 of the support blades are withdrawn from their respective corresponding slots 18a,b, prior to ejecting the formed container 48 from the forming chamber 38. In this embodiment, the support blades 140a,b are moved linearly between a support position (indicated in Figure 10 at C in dotted outline) and a non-support position (indicated in Figure 10 at D). The respective ends 144 of the support blades are withdrawn from their respective slots by one or both of two methods. In a first embodiment of a removal method, the folding ram 136 is configured such that when it is withdrawn from the chamber 138, the container 148 travels with the ram 136 for a distance which is far enough to remove the ends 144 from their respective slots, before the ram 136 releases the container for ejection from the apparatus. In this embodiment, this is achieved by the use of a suction device on the folding ram 136 which is used to hold the formed container 148 on the ram 136 for a desired amount of time to ensure the support blade ends 144 are removed from their respective container slots 118a,b. In a second embodiment of a removal method, the folded edges 145 of the formed container 148 are held by friction in their respective slots 143 such that when the ram 136 is withdrawn from the chamber 138, the formed container travels with the ram 136, thus releasing the container from the support blades 140a,b, prior to being dislodged therefrom and being ejected from the apparatus. In one arrangement, the container 148 may be ejected from the chamber 138 using rotatable shunts 152a,b which are rotatably attached to respective support blade arms 149a,b. When actuated to rotate, the shunts 152a,b move the formed container 148 from the chamber 138.
While the invention has been described in reference to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather than limitation and that changes may be made to the invention without departing from its scope as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, as will be understood, features of the first described apparatus embodiment may be adapted for interchangeability with features of the second described apparatus embodiment, and vice versa.
In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.
A reference herein to a prior art document is not an admission that the document forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia.