An apparatus and method for expanding a box blank into a box, the apparatus comprising an arm assembly, a controller, a camera and a box blank conveyor. The arm assembly includes a folding arm having a position in a first direction and a rotational angle controlled by the controller based on a position of a feature of the box blank in the field of view of the camera. The camera captures images of the box blank which are used to position the arm assembly and to evaluate the need to reject a box blank.

A vacuum belt conveyor sequentially delivers sheet articles to a digital printer. The sheets are held in position by vacuum on the underside of the sheets through apertures in the belts and covered by the sheets. A plurality of independent plenums on the underside of the belt have chambers respectively communicating with rows of apertures extending along the belt. Vacuum is selectively applied from a manifold only to the plenum chambers that supply apertures that are covered by the sheets so that the ink from the printer will not be directed from its intended position on the sheet by vacuum from adjacent uncovered belt apertures. The sheets are fed to the conveyor in synchronism with the conveyor speed by a timed feeder so that the sheets are carried by the conveyor with a predetermined gap between the sheets and no belt apertures in the gap. A sensor counts the apertures in the belt and activates the feeder at predetermined time intervals.

A device (10) for optically controlling a face (13) of a blank (12) has a vacuum conveyor (20) capable of transporting the blank (12) along a path of travel (15) and which includes a conveyor belt (22) having an apertured structure of which the conveying path follows the path of travel (15) of the blank (12). A suction device (40) is suitable for pressing the blank (12) against the conveyor belt (14). An inspection device (30) inspects the face (13) of the blank (12) during its conveyance by the vacuum conveyor (20). The inspection device is located on the side opposite the vacuum conveyor (20). The suction device (40) delimits three separate successive suction sections (41, 42, 43) along the path of travel (15), including a central suction section (42) that extends opposite the inspection device (30), an upstream suction section (41) and a downstream suction section (43).

A blank of sheet material for forming a polygonal container is provided. The blank includes a bottom panel, two opposing side panels, two opposing end panels, and a reinforcing panel assembly extending from a first side edge of a first end panel of the two end panels. The reinforcing panel assembly includes a corner panel extending from the first side edge of the first end panel, a first reinforcing side panel extending from a side edge of the corner panel, a second reinforcing side panel extending from a side edge of the first reinforcing side panel, a reinforcing corner panel extending from a side edge of the second reinforcing side panel, and an inner end panel extending from a side edge of the reinforcing corner panel. The corner panel and the reinforcing corner panel are configured, upon articulation of the blank, to be positioned into face-to-face relationship to form a corner wall of the container extending from a side edge of an end wall of the container to an end edge of a side wall of the container.

A machine a mandrel assembly includes a mandrel having an external shape complimentary to an internal shape of at least a portion of a container, a first lift mechanism operatively coupled to a first servomechanism to wrap a first portion of a blank about the mandrel, a second lift mechanism operatively coupled to a second servomechanism to wrap a second portion of the blank about the mandrel, and a folding arm coupled to the first lift mechanism and operatively coupled to a third servomechanism. A control system is in communication with the first servomechanism, the second servomechanism, and the third servomechanism and is configured to transmit a signal to each of the servomechanisms to independently control movement of the first lift mechanism, the second lift mechanism, and the folding arm to wrap at least the first and second portions of the blank about the mandrel to form the container.

The present invention relates to a device for removing a box or box part with a polygonal section from a chuck (51) comprising an upper face (511), an application face (510) interconnected by lateral faces and an end face (514), a chuck whereon the box has been previously formed from a blank (1). It comprises a plate (64) comprising first gripping means and translatably movable between a deployed position wherein the plate is near the end face (514) of the chuck whereon the lateral flaps (16a to 16d) are intended to be folded and folded position wherein the plate (64) is away from the chuck (51). The chuck (51) itself is movable between a first forming position wherein the outer cross-section thereof corresponds to the inner cross-section of the box or box part and a second retracted position wherein the outer cross-section thereof is smaller than the inner cross-section of the box or box part.

A paperboard blank stacker assembly for supplying a stack of paperboard blanks to a container forming machine includes a stacker. The stacker has multiple blank stops arranged to hold a peripheral edge of a bottom blank of the stack of paperboard blanks, with the multiple blank stops defining an interior region. A blank carrier has at least one suction device moveable into a grasp position, where the suction device applies a suction force to the bottom blank, and a removal position, where the suction device is moved to remove the bottom blank from the stack of paperboard blanks by pulling the bottom blank through the interior region.

A machine for forming cardboard boxes (B) from flat plates (P), which comprises a feeder of plates with a loader of plates, a sucker mechanism and a conveyor of plates; and a box forming station with a male device with a first rotary electric motor coupled to a first rotational monitoring device, and a male vertically insertable in a mold to form the boxes (B). A pusher member of the conveyor and a suction head of the suction mechanism are both movable by a same second rotary electric motor coupled to a second rotational monitoring device. The first rotary electric motor (11), the second rotary electric motor, the first rotational monitoring device and the second rotational monitoring device are jointly configured to controllably move the male independently of the controlled and synchronized movement of the pusher member and the suction head.

A machine for forming cardboard boxes (B) from flat plates (P), which comprises a feeder of plates with a loader of plates, a sucker mechanism and a conveyor of plates; and a box forming station with a male device with a first rotary electric motor coupled to a first rotational monitoring device, and a male vertically insertable in a mold to form the boxes (B). A pusher member of the conveyor and a suction head of the suction mechanism are both movable by a same second rotary electric motor coupled to a second rotational monitoring device. The first rotary electric motor (11), the second rotary electric motor, the first rotational monitoring device and the second rotational monitoring device are jointly configured to controllably move the male independently of the controlled and synchronized movement of the pusher member and the suction head.

A method to form cardboard boxes by gluing into a box-forming machine from sheets, said machine, a computer program with instructions for said machine to execute said method, and a computer-readable device that has stored said computer program. In this method, a stage of the movement of inserting a pintle into a mold starts with a controlling element when the position of a drag element of sheet to a delivery position, where you place a sheet aligned between said pintle and mold, it corresponds to a second intermediate position between a source position and said delivery position; and a stage of activation of a supplying actuator starts with a controlling element to supply a sheet subsequent to the source position, when the position of said drag element corresponds to a third intermediate position between said source position and said second position.