The invention relates to a method for top sealing a cardboard tray lined with a plastic foil. The method includes the steps of providing a cardboard tray having a bottom, upstanding walls arranged along the periphery of the bottom and a horizontal flange arranged along the upper edges of the upstanding walls, wherein the inside of the cardboard tray is lined with a plast foil, which plastic foil extends at least onto the horizontal flange; arranging the cardboard tray in a lower sealing tool member having a compressible support edge, wherein at least the horizontal flange is supported by the compressible support edge of the lower sealing tool member; arranging a cover foil over the cardboard tray arranged in the lower sealing tool member to cover the opening of the tray defined by the upper edges of the upstanding walls; and pressing a heated upper sealing tool member onto the lower sealing tool member, wherein the cover foil, the plastic foil liner and the horizontal flange are pressed together to seal the cover foil onto the plastic foil liner along the horizontal flange. The overlapping area of the plastic foil liner, the cover foil, and the compressible support edge extends at least partially outside of the area of the horizontal flange.

A customizable case former and it system and method of use provide for a case former having a base, interchangeable case gages and forming heads. Contained within the interior of the base are slide blocks mounted on slide rails and assemblies in such a manner as to allow the slide blocks to be slidingly reconfigured to form a case forming cavity of varicose sizes and shapes. The size and shape of the case forming cavity is established and maintained by a template opening, defined by, and potentially unique to, each case gage. The size and shape of the forming head corresponds to the size and shape of the template opening. The slide blocks are secured to the case gage by removable locking pins.

An automated apparatus and method for configuring and producing packaging for orders of variable configurations of perishable items includes an automatic case erector-sealer; a packing liner dispenser; a cold pack dispenser; a control system; a point of sale ecommerce platform; and a data processor to capture order configuration, order destination, and available order points of origin. The control system captures and uses the order configuration, destination, and delivery date, to generate a time in transit (TNT), total volume, cold volume, and ambient volume, of items in the order. The total volume and cold volume are used to generate a product cube category (PCC). The TNT and the PCC are used to generate a packaging configuration for the order. The system uses the packaging configuration to generate and send operational directives to one or more of the automatic case erector-sealer, the packing liner dispenser, and the cold pack dispenser.

A robot system includes: a hand that holds an article; an arm that moves the hand; and a first contacting portion with which a first foldable portion of the article is brought into contact during a first folding process that is a process of folding the first foldable portion in a state where the article is held by the hand. The hand includes: a base that is connected to the arm; and a holder that is rotatable relative to the base and holds the article by adhesion. During the first folding process, the hand and the arm fold the first foldable portion by rotating the holder while keeping the first foldable portion in contact with the first contacting portion.

Systems and methods for folding and retaining upper flaps of a box are disclosed. The system includes a conveyor system configured to advance the box at least partially through the system. A flap folding assembly is configured to fold the upper flaps of the box to an open or outwardly folded configuration. The upper flaps are folded outwardly and down towards outer sidewall surfaces of the box in the folded configuration. A bander assembly is configured to apply a band or other restraint to the upper flaps of the box to retain the upper flaps in the folded configuration.

A carton assembly machine for cartons (17) for packing articles (15, 15′), comprising means for feeding an unassembled carton in a feed direction, the said carton having a plurality of side flaps or panels (18, 19) whose folds are essentially parallel to the said feed direction folded onto a central portion (25) of the carton, the said machine further comprising a movable element (26) designed to move between a first position away from the route of the carton and a second position in which the said element is designed to be Inserted underneath, at an edge (27) of at least one of said side flaps or panels (19), so that the latter is raised with respect to the said central portion, in particular, in cooperation with the carton feeding.

This box assembling and packing system is provided: a first jig which is fixed at a predetermined position and against which a side part of a body of a packing box is thrust; a second jig which is fixed at a predetermined position and against which a flap part and a tuck part of the packing box are thrust; and a robot having two articulated arms. A first articulated arm of the two articulated arms holds and moves the packing box in a flatly collapsed form by a packing box holding mechanism, folds and raises the body of the flatly collapsed packing box into a rectangular tubular shape in cooperation with the first jig, and maintains the folded and raised body of the packing box in the rectangular tubular shape by a packing box rectangular tubular shape maintaining mechanism. The second articulated arm moves a folding member into contact with the flap part and the tuck part of the packing box being held by the packing box holding mechanism of the first articulated arm, forms each of a bottom and a lid of the packing box in cooperation with the second jig, and moves an object-to-be-packed being grasped by an object-to-be-packed grasping mechanism and inserts it into the body from an end portion at a timing between forming the bottom and forming the lid.

The present invention relates to a box forming machine for forming boxes of different shapes and sizes, comprising a forming station including an operating space, demarcated by upper and lower devices and receiving a box during the forming thereof, without horizontal movement of said box; flexible, pressurizable, and heatable glue conduits connected to a plurality of glue application nozzles, configured for being positioned in different positions consistent with the size of the box to be formed, and at least one electrically-operated valve configured for applying said hot glue in respective relative positions of said glue application nozzles with respect to the box, according to operative parameters associated with the dimensions of the box to be formed, including dimensions of upper and lower flaps of said box and at least one working temperature of a hot glue to be applied previously input in a user interface connected to a control device.

An opening system including a cutting device for cutting an adhesive tape; a suctioning and lifting device for suctioning a upper panels, which are separated from each other because the adhesive tape is cut by the cutting device; rod members which are elongated to be inserted into gaps, when the gaps are formed between the upper panels and upper edges of side surfaces in the packaging box because the upper panels are spaced apart from the side panels by the suctioning and lifting device; and an opening device which moves the respective rod members while being in contact with lower surfaces of the upper panels such that the upper panels are rotated outward with respect to boundaries between the upper panels and the side panels.

A method for producing boxes and a method for erecting a box from a box template (3), a box erecting system and a box production system, wherein said method for erecting boxes comprises the steps of: folding (S1) two first bottom flaps (28) and two second bottom flaps (29) of the box template (3), which 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 and which two second bottom flaps (29) are opposing each other in the box when it is erected; attaching (S2) the box template (3) to a frame (5); rotating (S3) the frame (5) for wrapping the box template (3) around the frame.