CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Sweden Patent Application No. 1851054.5 filed September 5, 2018, entitled“A BOX ERECTING METHOD AND SYSTEM” which application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a box erecting method and system and to a box production method and system.

RELATED ART

Erecting boxes from box templates in for example shipping and packaging industries can be done manually and/or with help from some erecting tools. These tools could for example comprise vacuum tools for gripping certain parts of a box template while folding other parts, such as for example a bottom of the box. Automatic erecting of boxes may encounter problems for example when different sizes of boxes should be erected with use of the same tools and/or if the box walls are not as stable as required, for example due to folds provided in the templates due to a fanfold storage of the template material.

Shipping and packaging industries frequently use cardboard and other sheet material processing equipment that converts sheet materials into box templates. One advantage of such equipment is that a shipper may prepare boxes of required sizes as needed in lieu of keeping a stock of standard, pre-made boxes of various sizes. Consequently, the shipper can eliminate the need to forecast its requirements for particular box sizes as well as to store pre-made boxes of standard sizes. Instead, the shipper may store one or more bales of fanfold material, which can be used to generate a variety of box sizes based on the specific box size requirements at the time of each shipment. This allows the shipper to reduce storage space normally required for periodically used shipping supplies as well as reduce the waste and costs associated with the inherently inaccurate process of forecasting box size requirements, as the items shipped and their respective dimensions vary from time to time.

In addition to reducing the inefficiencies associated with storing pre-made boxes of numerous sizes, creating custom sized boxes also reduces packaging and shipping costs. In the fulfillment industry it is estimated that shipped items are typically packaged in boxes that are about 65% larger than the shipped items. Boxes that are too large for a particular item are more expensive than a box that is custom sized for the item due to the cost of the excess material used to make the larger box. When an item is packaged in an oversized box, filling material (e.g., Styrofoam, foam peanuts, paper, air pillows, etc.) is often placed in the box to prevent the item from moving inside the box and to prevent the box from caving in when pressure is applied (e.g., when boxes are taped closed or stacked). These filling materials further increase the cost associated with packing an item in an oversized box.

Customized sized boxes also reduce the shipping costs associated with shipping items compared to shipping the items in oversized boxes. A shipping vehicle filled with boxes that are 65% larger than the packaged items is much less cost efficient to operate than a shipping vehicle filled with boxes that are custom sized to fit the packaged items. In other words, a shipping vehicle filled with custom sized packages can carry a significantly larger number of packages, which can reduce the number of shipping vehicles required to ship the same number of items. Accordingly, in addition or as an alternative to calculating shipping prices based on the weight of a package, shipping prices are often affected by the size of the shipped package. Thus, reducing the size of an item’s package can reduce the price of shipping the item. Even when shipping prices are not calculated based on the size of the packages (e.g., only on the weight of the packages), using custom sized packages can reduce the shipping costs because the smaller, custom sized packages will weigh less than oversized packages due to using less packaging and filling material.

A typical box template production system includes a converting part that cuts, scores, and/or creases sheet material to form a box template. The sheet material can be provided to the system from fanfolded bales. The fanfold storage of the sheet material provides unwanted fanfold folds to the box templates. These folds could be a problem when erecting the boxes, especially if tools for automatic erection are used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and system for erecting boxes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and a system for erecting boxes which is automated and flexible.

This is achieved in a method and a system for erecting boxes according to the independent claims.

In one aspect of the invention a method for erecting a box from a box template is provided. Said method comprising the steps of: folding two first bottom flaps and two second bottom flaps of the box template, which first and second bottom flaps will constitute a bottom of the box when it is erected and which two first bottom flaps are opposing each other and which two second bottom flaps are opposing each other in the box when it is erected;

- attaching the box template to a frame;

rotating the frame for wrapping the box template around the frame.

In another aspect of the invention a box erecting system for erecting a box from a box template is provided. Said box erecting system comprises:

a frame;

- an attaching device connected to the frame and configured for attaching the frame to a first end of a box template to be erected;

a control system connected to said frame and configured for rotating said frame for wrapping a box template attached to the frame around the frame; a first guiding device arranged in the box erecting system for folding two first bottom flaps and two second bottom flaps of the box template before the box template is wrapped around the frame, which first and second bottom flaps will constitute a bottom of the box when it is erected and which two first bottom flaps are opposing each other and which two second bottom flaps are opposing each other in the box when it is erected.

Hereby, a reliable process for erecting boxes is achieved. Thanks to the folding of the bottom flaps before wrapping the box around the frame possible problems in stability of side walls of the box arising from for example the storing method of the sheet material, for example fanfold bales or rolls, can be avoided. When wrapping the box template around the frame fanfold folds or instability of the material caused by roll storing could sometimes cause that the box template side comers do not fit snug around the frame as planned. When the bottom flaps are folded before the wrapping the stability of the box template will be much better and problems during wrapping possibly caused by the fanfold folds will be much decreased.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method and a system for producing boxes.

This is achieved by a method for producing boxes from sheet material, said method comprising the steps of:

producing box templates from sheet material; erecting the box templates according to the method as described above.

This is also achieved by a box production system comprising:

at least one inlet for receiving sheet material;

at least one converter part configured for receiving said sheet material and convert said sheet material into box templates according to given instructions; at least one box erecting system as described above, which is configured for erecting box templates provided from the at least one converter part.

Hereby boxes can be produces efficiently. An automatic or partly automatic erection of the boxes can be provided close to a box production system.

In one embodiment of the invention the step of folding two first bottom flaps and two second bottom flaps comprises folding the two first bottom flaps a different amount of degrees than the two second bottom flaps are folded. Hereby the box template can be wrapped around the frame without the bottom flaps colliding.

In one embodiment of the invention the step of folding first and second bottom flaps of the box template comprises advancing the box template through a feeding part of a box erecting system towards the frame such that a first guiding device provided in the feeding part will force the first and second bottom flaps to fold between 60 and 90 degrees in relation to an adjacent side wall part of the box template.

In one embodiment of the invention the method further comprises a step performed before wrapping the box template around the frame:

folding two first top flaps and two second top flaps of the box template, which first and second top flaps will constitute a top of the box when it is erected and closed and which two first top flaps are opposing each other and which two second top flaps are opposing each other in the box when it is erected, wherein the first and second top flaps are folded in relation to an adjacent side wall part of the box template and in an opposite direction compared to the folding of the bottom flaps.

In one embodiment of the invention the method further comprises the step of:

adjusting a size of the frame according to a size of the box template before the box template is wrapped around the frame.

Hereby boxes of different sizes can be erected.

In one embodiment of the invention the step of adjusting the size of the frame comprises controlling the size of the frame by a control system connected to the frame, wherein said adjusting comprises controlling by the control system distances between four corner posts provided in the frame.

In one embodiment of the invention the method further comprises the step of:

adjusting a position of a first and possibly also a second guiding device of a feeding part of a box erecting system before the box template is advanced through the feeding part, said position is adjusted according to a height of side walls of the box template, which height corresponds to a height of the finally erected box.

In one embodiment of the invention the box erecting system further comprises an advancing device provided in a feeding part of the box erecting system for advancing the box template along a path of the feeding part towards the frame, wherein the frame is provided at an outlet side of the feeding part and wherein the first guiding device is provided to said feeding part such that the first guiding device will force the first and second bottom flaps to fold between 60 and 90 degrees in relation to an adjacent side wall part of the box template when the box template is fed through the feeding part.

In one embodiment of the invention the box erecting system further comprises at least one actuator provided to the feeding part and configured for providing an additional amount of folding to either the two first bottom flaps or the two second bottom flaps when the box template is fed through the feeding part.

In one embodiment of the invention the box erecting system further comprises a second guiding device provided in a feeding part of the box erecting system and configured for folding two first top flaps and two second top flaps of the box template before the box template is wrapped around the frame, which first and second top flaps will constitute a top of the box when it is erected and closed and which two first top flaps are opposing each other and which two second top flaps are opposing each other in the box when it is erected, wherein the first and second top flaps are folded in relation to an adjacent side wall part of the box template and in an opposite direction compared to the folding of the bottom flaps.

Further embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figures la-lc are perspective views of a box erecting system according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2a is a perspective view of one part of the box erecting system as shown in Figures la-lc. Figure 2b shows schematically the form of a box template on its way through the box erecting system as shown in Figure 2a.

Figure 2c is a perspective view of the same part of the box erecting system as shown in Figure 2a but from the other side.

Figures 3a-3d show schematically a box production system according to one embodiment of the invention in four different positions for wrapping a box around a frame.

Figure 4 is a flow chart of a method according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

According to the invention a box erecting system and a method for erecting boxes from box templates are provided. A box erecting system 1 according to one embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 1 and 2. Furthermore a box production system and a method for producing boxes from sheet material are provided. A box production system 100 comprising a box erecting system 1 according to one embodiment of the invention is shown schematically in Figures 3a-3d.

The method and system according to the invention can be applied for different types of boxes, for example a so called Regular Slotted Container, RSC, also called Fefco 201 or American box or a Half Slotted Container HSC, also called Fefco 200.

Figures la-lc show schematically a box erecting system 1 according to one embodiment of the invention in different views and in different positions. The box erecting system 1 comprises a frame 5 and a control system 11 connected to said frame 5. The frame 5 comprises in this embodiment adjustable parts 7, which are defining the size of the frame 5.

In this embodiment of the invention the adjustable parts 7 comprises four corner posts 7 and the control system 11 is configured for controlling the position of said corner posts 7 in accordance with different box template sizes, i.e. in accordance with different box sizes to be erected. The four corner posts 7 are positioned to form a rectangular shape corresponding to a rectangular shape of the box to be erected. Each comer post 7 will in one embodiment of the invention be provided in a comer between two side walls of the erected box. An adjustment of the size of the frame can in one embodiment of the invention be to adjust the distances between the corner posts which distances corresponds to a width and a length of the box to be erected. In this embodiment of the invention at least one of the corner posts 7 comprises an attachment device 19 to which a first end 23 of a box template 3 can be attached during wrapping of the box template around the frame 5. This could for example be a suction cup or a clamp which can be controlled from the control system 11. In the embodiment shown in Figures la-lc a first end 23 of the box template is a glue tab provided for forming part of a manufacturer’s joint. However in another embodiment of the invention an overlap

manufacturer’s joint is not necessary but instead an edge to edge manufacturer’s joint using tape sealing could be provided. In that case a first end 23 of the box template which is attached to one of the corner posts 7 is not a glue tab but simply the outermost end of the box template.

In this embodiment of the invention the control system 11 is configured for controlling the position of the frame 5 for wrapping the box template 3 around the frame 5. The control system 11 can control the attaching device 19 provided to at least one of the corner posts 7 to attach to a first end 23 of a box template 3 to be erected. The control system 11 is configured to rotate the frame 5 for wrapping the box template 3 around the frame 5.

The box erecting system 1 comprises furthermore a feeding part 31 which is configured for feeding the frame 5 with a box template 3. The feeding part 31 can possibly be provided in direct connection to a box template production system, for example directly at an outlet 43 from a converting part 41 of a box template production system. This is

schematically illustrated in Figures 3a-3d where a box production system 100 is illustrated. The box production system 100 comprises a converter part 41 and a box erecting system 1 positioned in connection with an outlet 43 from the converter part 41. Sheet material is fed into the converter part 41 at an inlet 45 of the converter part 41 for example from sheet material stored in fanfold bales (not shown). Hereby a box template 3 is delivered out from the converter part 41 and into the feeding part 31 of the box erecting system 1. The feeding part 31 is only schematically shown in Figures 3a-3d but shown in more detail in Figures 1 and 2. The feeding part 31 comprises an advancing device 33 which is configured for advancing the box template 5 along a path 35 towards the frame 5. The path 35 is a surface for the box template 3 to lie on which path 35 is reaching between an inlet side 36a of the feeding part 31 and an outlet side 36b of the feeding part, wherein the outlet side 36b is positioned in connection with the frame 5. According to the invention the feeding part 31 of the box erecting system 1 comprises a first guiding device 37a arranged in the system for folding two first bottom flaps 28 and two second bottom flaps 29 of the box template 3 before the box template is wrapped around the frame 5. The first and second bottom flaps 28, 29 will constitute a bottom of the box when it is erected and which two first bottom flaps 28 are opposing each other in the box when it is erected and can also be called minor flaps and which two second bottom flaps 29 are opposing each other in the box when it is erected and can be called major flaps.

The first guiding device 37a can best be seen in Figure 2a and is in this embodiment a bent sheet metal which is provided along the path 35 and comprises a guiding surface 38a which is curved and which will force the first and second bottom flaps 28, 29 to be bent upwards in an amount of between 60-90 degrees, or in one embodiment 80-90 degrees, in relation to a plane in which an adjacent side wall part 108, 109 of the box template 3 is provided when transferred through the feeding part 31. Hereby the first and second bottom flaps 28, 29 will be bent in relation to an adjacent part of the box template 3 during a feeding of the box template 3 through the feeding part 31 towards the frame 5.

Hereby the bottom flaps 28, 29 are already folded when the box template 3 arrives at the frame 5 for wrapping of the box template 3 around the frame 5. This is suitable because any possible fanfold folds in the box template caused by the storage of the sheet material in z- folds can make sides of the box less stable and robust than sides without fanfolds. When erecting boxes such fanfold folds may cause problems, especially when boxes are erected automatically. By first folding bottom flaps 28, 29, box sides comprising fanfold folds will be stabilized and the erection of boxes will be facilitated, i.e. a more reliable and robust box erecting system will be achieved. Other storage methods such as for example rolls of sheet material can also cause instability of the side walls. The folding of the bottom flaps according to the invention will increase stability of the side walls also in this case.

In one embodiment of the invention at least one actuator 39 is furthermore provided in the feeding part 31. This actuator 39 can be seen in Figure 2c. The actuator 39 is connected to the control system 11 and is configured for providing an additional amount of folding to either the two first bottom flaps 28 or the two second bottom flaps 29. Hereby either the two first bottom flaps 28 will during the wrapping of the box template 3 around the frame 5 be provided inside the two second bottom flaps 29 or the other way around. This is suitable in order to provide a convenient wrapping of the box template without the bottom flaps 28, 29 colliding. The control system 11 will be aware of which one of the bottom flaps 28, 29 currently being in the position where the actuator 39 is provided and can hereby control the actuator 39 to only fold either the first or the second bottom flaps 28, 29 an additional amount. An additional amount can for example be a few degrees. In Figure 2b the box template 3 is shown as it is provided in one specific position during its passage through the feeding part 31. In this position one of the first bottom flaps 28a has just been folded an additional amount by the actuator 39 which can be seen in that it is folded more than the second bottom flap 29 which is provided adjacent. The other first bottom flap 28b has just started to be forced to fold by the first guiding device 37a.

In this embodiment, but not necessarily, the feeding part 31 of the box erecting system 1 further comprises a second guiding device 37b (best seen in Figure lc) which is similar to the first guiding device 37a but inverted. I.e. the second guiding device 37b can be a bent sheet metal which is provided along the path 35 and comprises a guiding surface 38b which is curved and which will force first and second top flaps 48, 49 to be bent downwards in relation to a plane in which an adjacent side wall part 108, 109 of the box template 3 is provided when transferred through the feeding part 31. Hereby the first and second top flaps 48, 49 will be bent in relation to an adjacent side wall part of the box template 3 during a feeding of the box template 3 through the feeding part 31 towards the frame 5.

Hereby the two first top flaps 48 and the two second top flaps 49 of the box template 3 are folded before the box template 3 is wrapped around the frame 5. The first and second top flaps 48, 49 will constitute a top of the box when it is erected and closed and the two first top flaps 48 are opposing each other and the two second top flaps 49 are opposing each other in the box when it is erected. The first and second top flaps 48, 49 are folded in an opposite direction compared to the folding of the bottom flaps 28, 29. The amount of folding can for the top flaps be anything between 0-180 degrees. Also a small folding will increase the stability. Folding of the top flaps also provides further advantages such as easier filling of the erected box, easier transportation of the erected box towards a filling station and the comer posts 7 of the frame 5 do not need to be excessively long for holding the box when wrapped around the frame.

The box erecting system 1 comprises furthermore in one embodiment of the invention a gluing device 51 configured for providing glue to a first end 23 or a second end 24 of the box template 3 for the sealing of a manufacturer’s joint and to the first or the second bottom flaps 28, 29 before the box template 3 has been completely wrapped around the frame 5. The box erecting system 1 may also comprise a compressing device configured for compressing the first bottom flaps 28 towards the second bottom flaps 29 to seal the bottom.

As described above a manufacturer’s joint and a bottom of the box can be sealed for example by tape or by glue before the frame 5 is removed from the erected box and used for erecting a new box. In this embodiment of the invention the frame 5 comprises four corner posts 7a, 7b,

7c, 7d. If for example a Regular Slotted Container, RSC, or a Half Slotted Container, HSC, is erected each one of the four comer posts 7a-7d will be provided in an inside comer each of the box between two side walls of the box. Furthermore a distance between a first one of the corner posts 7a and a second one of the corner posts 7b corresponds to a width of the finally erected box and a distance between the first comer post 7a and a third corner post 7c corresponds to a length of the finally erected box. When adjusting the size of the frame the distances between the corner posts are changed which distances correspond to the length and width of the finally erected box. The feeding part 31 of the box erecting system 1 can also suitably be adapted for different box template sizes. The position of the first and second guiding devices 37a, 37b will be adjusted according to a height of side walls 108, 109 of the box template, which corresponds to a height of the finally erected box. Also as described above at least one of the comer posts 7 comprises an attachment device 19 to which a first end 23 of a box template 3 can be attached during wrapping of the box template around the frame 5. In the embodiments as shown in Figures 1-3 a first end 23 of the box template is a glue tab provided for forming part of a manufacturer’s joint. However, as described above the first end 23 does not need to be a glue tab.

Furthermore, in this embodiment it can be seen that the control system 11 is configured for providing the frame 5 to the box template 3 with a distal end 25 of the frame 5 substantially in line with bottom flap creases 27 of the box template 3 such that a bottom can be folded while keeping the frame 5 inside the wrapped box template.

In this embodiment of the invention the control system 11 is configured for controlling the position and orientation of the frame 5 for wrapping the box template 3 around the frame 5. The control system 11 can control the attaching device 19 provided to at least one of the corner posts 7 to attach to a first end 23 of a box template 3 to be erected. The control system 11 is further in this embodiment configured to rotate the frame 5 for wrapping the box template 3 around the frame 5.

Figure 3d shows schematically the box erecting system 1 in a position where a box template 3 has been almost wrapped around the frame 5. In this embodiment, where a glue tab is provided as a first end 23 of the box template 3 which is attached to the attaching device 19 of the frame 5, glue is being provided to either the glue tab or a second end 24 of the box template 3 which will be mating with the glue tab 23 when the box template is completely wrapped around the frame. The sealing between the glue tab 23 and the second end 24 of the box template is referred to as the manufacturer’s joint. Hereby in this embodiment of the invention the method comprises a step of sealing a manufacturer’s joint before the frame is separated from the box template. The box erecting system comprises hereby as described above a gluing device 51. The gluing device 51 is connected to the control system 11 and is controlled by the control system 11 to eject glue to the box template for the sealing of both the manufacturer’s joint and the bottom. Glue is provided to either a first or a second end of the box template and either the first or the second bottom flaps 28, 29 when they are passing the gluing device 51 on its way through the feeding part 31.

In Figure 4 a flow chart of the method to erect a box according to one embodiment of the invention is shown. The steps of the method are described briefly below. Most of the method steps have already been described in detail above.

Sl : Folding first and second bottom flaps 28, 29 in relation to an adjacent side wall part 108, 109 of the box template 3. The folding can be between 60-90 degrees and in one embodiment between 80-90 degrees. Optionally also top flaps 48, 49 can be folded however in the opposite direction from the folding of the bottom flaps. Suitably this step of folding the bottom flaps 28, 29 also comprises folding the two first bottom flaps 28 a different amount of degrees than the two second bottom flaps 29 are folded.

S2: Attaching a first end 23 of the box template 3 to a frame 5 of the box erecting system 1.

S3 : Rotating the frame 5 to wrap the box template 3 around the frame.

S4: Sealing a manufacturer’s joint and a bottom of the box before it is separated from the frame. Sealing may comprise to provide glue to a first end 23 or a second end 24 of the box template and to either the first or the second bottom flaps 28, 29 and possibly also to compress the first and second bottom flaps towards each other and compress the

manufacturer’ s j oint.

S5: Separating the erected box from the frame such that another box can be erected.

According to another aspect of the invention a method for producing boxes from sheet material is provided. The sheet material can be for example cardboard or corrugated board. The method comprises the steps of:

- producing box templates, possibly of different sizes, from sheet material;

erecting the box templates according to any one of the embodiments of the methods for erecting boxes as described above. The method can further comprise an initial step of providing the sheet material to a box template production system from bales of fanfolded sheet material. When the box templates are produced from fanfolded material, such as for example fanfolded corrugated board, folds will be provided in the box templates also at other positions than intended, here called fanfold folds. These fanfold folds can be problematic to handle when erecting the boxes because the box walls may not behave as walls without such fanfold folds. They may fold along a fanfold fold rather than along intended crease lines. Ensuring corner folding in intended positions is crucial to ensure a correct box erection. The use of the frame and the method of wrapping the box templates around the frame for erecting the boxes will be especially suitable for and improve erection processes of box templates comprising fanfold folds, i.e. box templates provided in different sizes on demand from fanfolded sheet material. Such a fanfold fold 140 is shown in the box template 3 which is erected by the box erecting system 1 shown in Figure lc. The sheet material could also be provided to the box template production system from sheet material rolls or from any other form of sheet material storage. Corrugated board provided in rolls can for example be single phase corrugated board. The storage of sheet material on rolls may cause instability of side walls and therefore the use of the frame and the method of folding a bottom before wrapping the box templates around the frame for erecting the boxes will be advantageous also when using sheet material provided from such rolls.

According to one embodiment of the invention the method for producing boxes further comprises synchronizing a control system 11 of the box erecting system 1 with a control system 1 G of the converter part 41 such that the wrapping of a box template 3 around the frame 5 is synchronized with conversion of sheet material into a box template in the converter part 41, whereby the whole process from sheet material to an erected box is a continuous process. These two control systems 11, 1 G can also be combined into one control system.

According to another aspect of the invention a box production system 100 is provided. Such a box production system is as already described schematically shown in Figures 3a-3d. The box production system comprises:

- at least one inlet 45 for receiving sheet material;

at least one converter part 41 configured for receiving said sheet material and convert said sheet material into box templates, possibly of different sizes, according to given instructions; at least one box erecting system 1 as described above configured for erecting box templates provided from the at least one converter part 41.

In one embodiment of the invention said at least one inlet 45 is configured for receiving said sheet material from bales of fanfolded sheet material or from sheet material rolls as described above.

In one embodiment of the invention the control system 11 of the box erecting system 1 is synchronized or integrated with a control system of the converter part 41 such that the wrapping of a box template 3 around the frame 5 is synchronized with conversion of sheet material into a box template in the converter part 41, whereby the whole process from sheet material to an erected box is a continuous process.

The control system 11 of the box erecting system 1 comprises further a processor and a computer program which when run on the processor causes the control system 11 to perform the method for erecting boxes as described above.

The invention comprises further a computer program comprising computer readable code which, when run on a processor in a control system 11 of a box erecting system 1 according to the invention causes the control system to perform the box erecting method of the invention as described above.