PACKAGING MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PRODUCTS IN CARTONS AND METHOD FOR THIS

Abstract

The invention relates to a packaging machine for packaging products (O) in cartons, wherein the packaging machine has a product feed for feeding products (O) to be packaged in cartons, wherein the products (O) have the length P, wherein the product feed has a stacking apparatus (111) that is embodied to at least stack a first group of products (O), which are positioned next to one another in a row with a length R, vertically above or below a second group of products (O), which are likewise positioned next to one another in a row with a length R, wherein the length R is a multiple of the length P, wherein a product slot (112) is positioned at the end of the product feed, at which product slot stacked rows of products (O) with the length R are collected, wherein a slide (113) with a length S is positioned at the product slot (112), which slide is embodied to slide the stacked rows of products (O) having a length that at least corresponds to the length S in an at least substantially horizontal sliding direction into a carton at a carton packing station, wherein the length S is shorter than the length R by at least one times the length P.

Claims

1. A packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K), the packaging machine (100) comprising: a product feed (110) for feeding products (O) to be packaged in cartons (K), wherein the products (O) have a length P, and wherein the product feed (110) has a stacking apparatus (111) that is configured to at least stack a first group of products (O), which are positioned next to one another in a row with a length R, vertically above or below a second group of products (O), which are likewise positioned next to one another in a row with a length R; wherein the length R is a multiple of the length P; wherein a product slot (112) is positioned at the end of the product feed (110), at which product slot stacked rows of products (O) with the length R are collected, wherein a slide (113) with a length S is positioned at the product slot (112), wherein the slide is configured to slide the stacked rows of products (O) having a length that at least corresponds to the length S in an at least substantially horizontal sliding direction into a carton (K) at a carton packing station (140); and wherein the length S is shorter than the length R by at least one times the length P.

2. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 1, wherein the product slot (112) has a frontal area serving as a buffer zone and wherein the frontal area has a length V that at least corresponds to the length P.

3. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 1, wherein the length S during operation of the packaging machine (100) corresponds substantially to the length of a carton (K) to be packed.

4. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 3, wherein the length S is adjustable at least before operation of the packaging machine (100) and can be adapted to the length of the carton (K) to be packed.

5. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 1, wherein the maximum adjustable length S.sub.max of the slide (113), which indicates the maximum row length of products (O) that can be inserted, is between 400 mm and 800 mm, preferably between 500 mm and 700 mm, particularly preferably about 600 mm.

6. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 1, wherein the length V of the frontal area at least substantially corresponds to half the maximum adjustable length S.sub.max of the slide (113), wherein it is particularly preferable for the length V of the frontal area to be 300 mm.

7. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 1, wherein the packaging machine (100) further comprises an incorrect part discharge (114) that is embodied to discharge products (O) that should not be packed before they are grouped in the stacking apparatus (111).

8. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 7, wherein the product feed (110) has an at least substantially horizontal first conveying direction and wherein the incorrect part discharge (114) is positioned downstream of the stacking apparatus (111) in the first conveying direction, preferably next to the stacking apparatus (111).

9. The packaging machine (100) according to claim 8, wherein the products (O) are fed to the stacking apparatus (111) in the first conveying direction and conveyed onward from the stacking apparatus (111) in a second conveying direction, wherein the second conveying direction is at least substantially opposite from the first conveying direction.

10. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 8, wherein the packaging machine (100) has a preferably optical monitoring device that is embodied to detect whether a product (O) is a product that should not be packed; and wherein the packaging machine (100) is also configured, when the monitoring device detects a product that should not be packed, to trigger the incorrect part discharge (114) so that it discharges the product that should not be packed.

11. The packaging machine (100) for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) according to claim 10, wherein the monitoring device is positioned upstream of the stacking apparatus (111) in the first conveying direction, preferably next to the stacking apparatus (111).

12. The packaging machine (100) according to claim 1, wherein the stacking apparatus (111) is also embodied to convey the stacked groups of products (O) from a lower level to a vertically higher upper level.

13. A method for packaging products (O) in cartons (K) with the aid of a packaging machine (100) according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0076] The invention will be explained in greater detail below based on the description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0077] FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of a packaging machine according to the present invention from the operating side;

[0078] FIG. 2 shows another schematic top view of the packaging machine according to the present invention;

[0079] FIG. 3 shows another schematic top view of the packaging machine according to the present invention from a side opposite from the operating side; and

[0080] FIGS. 4 to 7 show schematic depictions of the procedure of sliding products into cartons according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0081] In the following, reference is first made to FIG. 1 in order to give an overview of the packaging machine 100 according to the invention.

[0082] The packaging machine 100 is used to package products O in cartons K and to then stack them on pallets Z. For this purpose, the packaging machine 100 has a product feed 110 at its inlet. The product feed 110 is used to feed products O to the packaging machine 100.

[0083] The products O can, for example, be folding boxes. The products O are moved along a first at least substantially horizontal conveying direction. This is the longitudinal direction of the packaging machine 100 shown in the figures. In FIG. 1, the conveying direction is from left to right. In this case, the product inlet is positioned at one end of the packaging machine 100 (on the left side here). A stacking apparatus 111 is positioned on the other side of the product feed 110 (on the right here).

[0084] The stacking apparatus 111 stacks a first group of products O vertically above a second group of products. The groups of products O are each positioned in a row with the length R. In the example shown here, four products O, each with the length P, are positioned in a row with the length R. The length R here thus corresponds to four times the length P. In this example, the stacking apparatus 111 stacks seven groups of products O on top of one another.

[0085] In FIG. 1, on the right (i.e. downstream in the first conveying direction) next to the stacking apparatus 111, an incorrect part discharge 114 is provided. These are used to discharge products, which should not be packed, from the packaging process.

[0086] At the stacking apparatus 111, there is a change in the conveying direction of the products O. Starting from this point in FIG. 1, the products O are fed from right to left and thus in a second conveying direction opposite from the first conveying direction. In particular, the products are conveyed to a product slot 112.

[0087] Further in the second conveying direction, next to the product slot 112, a carton magazine 120 is provided in which carton blanks C are stored collapsed flat. In an at least substantially horizontal transverse direction perpendicular to the first (and also the second) conveying direction next to the carton magazine 120, an erecting station 130 is provided at which the carton blanks C can be erected. Downstream of the erecting station 130 in the first conveying direction, there is a carton packing station 140 at which the erected cartons K can be packed.

[0088] The packing is carried out from the product slot 112, namely in an at least substantially horizontal sliding direction, into a carton K that is positioned in the carton packing station 140. The sliding direction here is perpendicular to the first (and also the second) conveying direction and thus parallel to the transverse direction.

[0089] FIG. 1 shows the packaging machine 100 from an operating side from which the packaging machine 100 can be operated. This also means that the product feed 110 extends along the operating side (from left to right). The carton magazine 120 and the incorrect part discharge 114 are likewise positioned on the operating side. In particular, the product feed 110 extends under the carton magazine 120. The stacked products O also travel along the operating side, from which they are then slid away at the product slot 112.

[0090] This also means that the erecting station 130 and the carton packing station 140 are not positioned toward the operating side. Instead, viewed from the operating side, the erecting station 130 is hidden behind the carton magazine 120 and the carton packing station 140 is hidden behind the product slot 112.

[0091] On the whole, therefore, the apparatuses and stations that require frequent intervention by the operator are positioned closer to the operating side, whereas those in which an intervention is rarely or never necessary are positioned farther away from the operating side.

[0092] The cartons K are fed from the erecting station 130 to the carton packing station 140 by a carton conveying apparatus 160. The conveying direction of the carton conveying apparatus 160 in this case is parallel to the first conveying direction. The carton conveying apparatus 160 conveys the cartons K onward to a carton closing station 170 and a carton turning station 175.

[0093] After this, the cartons K are taken by a Scara robot 182, which is positioned on a platform 181 of a palletizing station 180. The palletizing station 180 here is used to convey the cartons K onto pallets Z. For this purpose, a pallet feed 190 is provided, which feeds empty pallets Z to the palletizing station 180 and/or a pallet loading station 191.

[0094] Selected individual aspects of the present invention will be described in greater detail below. In this connection, the individual aspects, each taken on their own, can form the basis for claims (for example as part of a divisional application). The respective individual aspects can also all be combined with one another so that one, several, or all of the individual aspects of the packaging machines and/or methods contained can for the basis for claims.

[0095] On the one hand, the respective effects of the individual aspects considered individually each contribute to improvements with the individual aspects. On the other hand, several or all of the effects of the individual aspects considered together result in a by and large improved packaging machine, which while having a high throughput is space-saving at the same time.

[0096] Carton Magazine

[0097] In the following, aspects will be described that relate to the carton magazine 120 in particular. These can be combined with other individual aspects (such as the incorrect part discharge 114, the palletizing station 180, the labeling apparatus 150, or the stacking apparatus 111).

[0098] As can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, the carton magazine 120 is positioned above the product feed 110. In this connection, carton blanks C are conveyed out of the carton magazine 120 perpendicular to the first conveying direction (and second conveying direction) of the product feed 110 away from an operating side to an erecting station 130. For example, the carton blanks C, which are preferably pre-glued, can be removed from the carton magazine 120 by means of a (suction) gripper.

[0099] In FIG. 1, partially hidden behind the carton magazine 120, a (pre-glued) carton blank C is shown, which is in a collapsed flat position in the erecting station 130. As is also visible, the carton blank C extends in a transverse direction (relative to the first conveying direction). The carton blank C has been taken from the carton magazine 130 in a transverse direction in which it was oriented upright, collapsed flat along with other carton blanks C next to one another in the first conveying direction.

[0100] In FIG. 2, the carton blank C has already been erected to form a carton K and is no longer visible from the operating side (is positioned hidden behind the erecting station 130). But the carton K is visible from the opposite side, which is shown in FIG. 3. There, the carton blank C is shown, which has been erected to form an at least substantially block-shaped open carton K in such a way that it can be filled with products O from the (at least substantially horizontal) transverse direction. To accomplish this, the carton conveying apparatus 160 conveys the carton K to the carton packing station 140.

[0101] The fact that the “carton feed direction” to the erecting station 130 is perpendicular to the “product feed direction” (first conveying direction) makes it possible to save space in the longitudinal direction of the packaging machine 100.

[0102] In its position in the packaging machine 100, the carton magazine 120 (which is positioned closer to the operating side) is also easily accessible to an operator. The carton magazine 120 can thus be easily refilled.

[0103] Incorrect Part Discharge

[0104] As is particularly visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, an incorrect part discharge 114 is positioned at the end of the product feed 110. In this case, the incorrect part discharge 114 is positioned downstream of the stacking apparatus 111, viewed in the first conveying direction. For example, the incorrect part discharge 114 has a motion detector, which conveys the incorrect part to a chute, which in turn conveys the incorrect part into a receptacle.

[0105] The incorrect part discharge 114 is coupled and functionally connected to a monitoring device (not shown). In this connection, the monitoring device is used to detect incorrect parts, i.e. products that should not be packed. For example, the monitoring device can be an optical monitoring device such as a camera.

[0106] The monitoring device here is preferably positioned upstream of (i.e. before) the stacking apparatus 111 in the first conveying direction. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the monitoring device is positioned at the inlet of the stacking apparatus 111. Because the monitoring device and the incorrect part discharge 114 are placed at different positions in the flow direction, it is possible to ensure that there is enough processing time to detect incorrect parts and to appropriately trigger the incorrect part discharge 114.

[0107] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the incorrect part discharge 114 and the monitoring device are placed at the same position in the first conveying direction. This requires a correspondingly rapid data processing of the data recorded by the monitoring device.

[0108] Palletizing Station with Platform and Scara Robot

[0109] The next aspect particularly relates to the palletizing of cartons K onto pallets Z.

[0110] As can be seen in FIG. 2, the palletizing station 180 has a platform 181, which embodied in a bridge-like manner. The Scara robot 182 on the platform 181 and places cartons K—or more generally stated, elements—onto pallets Z. Because the platform 181 is positioned in a bridge-like manner, it is possible to store an empty pallet Z under the platform 181. When the pallet Z seen on the left in FIG. 2 is fully loaded, it is picked up by a (preferably automatic) forklift truck and the pallet feed 190 conveys an empty pallet Z, which has been temporarily stored under the platform 181, to the pallet loading station 191.

[0111] When the old pallet Z is conveyed away and the new pallet Z has not yet been placed at the ready in the pallet loading station 191 (during the pallet change), it is temporarily impossible for cartons K to be loaded onto pallets Z. The cartons K are temporarily stored on the platform 181 so that the preceding stations can continue to operate with their own cycle times and the palletizing station 180 does not cause a lengthening of the cycle time.

[0112] For this purpose, the Scara robot 182 is embodied with the ability to move in such a way that it is even able to set cartons K down in its immediate vicinity. The Scara robot 182 has a main body 186. The main body 186 has an upper arm 183 fastened to it, which is able to rotate around a first axis of rotation 183 (at a first end of the upper arm). The other end of the upper arm 183 has a first end of a lower arm 184 fastened to it, which is able to rotate around a second axis of rotation. The second end of the lower arm 184 has a hand 185 fastened to it, which is able to rotate around a third axis of rotation. The hand 185 is a grasping unit for cartons K. The three axes of rotation are oriented parallel to one another. In addition, the upper arm 183 is able to move vertically along the main body 186. Consequently, the Scara robot 182 as a whole is extremely mobile and has a large radius of action.

[0113] A distinctive feature at this point is the control of the Scara robot 182. The Scara robot 182 is embodied so that it can be actuated in such a way that the lower arm 184 travels under the upper arm 183. The lower arm 183 can therefore be rotated all the way around (360 degrees).

[0114] Labeling Apparatus

[0115] The next individual aspect relates to a labeling apparatus 150, which is provided to apply labels to cartons K.

[0116] As is particularly visible in FIG. 3, the labeling apparatus 150 is positioned under the carton conveying apparatus 160. In particular, the labeling apparatus 150 can be positioned underneath, in a region of the carton closing station 170 and/or of the carton turning station 175.

[0117] The labeling apparatus 150 has a labeling guide 151 and a labeling magazine 152. The labeling guide 151 protrudes in the direction of the carton conveying apparatus 160 and reaches into the transport path traveled by a carton K.

[0118] The movement of the carton K through the carton conveying apparatus 160 results in the fact that the carton K comes into contact with the labeling apparatus 150 and in particular with the labeling guide 151. In so doing, it is possible to apply a label to the carton K. Depending on the orientation of the labeling guide 151, the label here can be applied to a front, to an underside, or to a front and underside (i.e. over the edge).

[0119] Stacking Apparatus and Product Slot

[0120] Another sub-aspect of the present invention will be described below, which relates in particular to increasing the throughput of the packaging machine 100.

[0121] The stacking apparatus 111 is embodied to stack a first group of products O, which are positioned next to one another in a row with a length R, vertically above a second group of products O, which are likewise positioned in a row with the length R. In this case, the products O themselves have the length P, viewed in the row direction. This also corresponds to the length (from front to back) of the products O in the first conveying direction.

[0122] The stacking apparatus 111 is the bottleneck of the packaging machine 100. It is thus desirable here for the largest possible quantity (the longest possible row of products O) to be stacked on top of one another. The stacking apparatus 111 is thus preferably always maximally loaded. From the stacking apparatus 111, the stacked cartons positioned in a row with the length R are conveyed to the product slot 112 (as can be seen in FIG. 2 by means of the product feeding slide 116).

[0123] From the product slot 112, a number of products O is slid into a carton K. In this connection, the number of products O inserted in a sliding procedure is less than the number of products O that are stacked on top of one another in a stacking procedure. In particular, the slide 113 has a length S, which is shorter than the length R. Stated simply, if the length S is shorter than the length R by one times the length P, then one stack of products O remains behind. Correspondingly, if the length S is shorter than the length R by two times the length P, then two stacks next to each other remain behind. This is why the product slot 112 has a frontal area as a buffer zone in which the stacks of products O can remain behind. It is thus possible for the product slot 112 to operate at a faster rhythm than the stacking apparatus 111.

[0124] The principle should be explained by way of example below based on FIGS. 4 to 7. These figures are a schematic depiction of the operation, viewed from the operator side. In this case, the stacking apparatus 111 is positioned on the right and the product slot 112 is positioned on the left. The product feeding slide 116 is also still shown.

[0125] FIG. 4 shows the slide 113 with its length S. There are no longer any products O in the product slot 112. The stacking apparatus 111 has supplied the first products O, or more precisely, six stacks of products O.

[0126] In FIG. 5, the product feeding slide 116 has already slid the products O into the product slot 112; only four stacks can then be slid onward by the slide 113.

[0127] In FIG. 6, the slide 113 with the length S has already slid the four slidable stacks into the carton. Two stacks of products O remain behind as a remaining quantity in the frontal area of the product slot 112. In addition, the stacking apparatus 111 has once again supplied six stacks of products O.

[0128] FIG. 7 shows how the product feeding slide 116 has moved the products O from the stacking apparatus 111 toward the product slot 112. Now, the slide 113 can convey the first four stacks into a carton K. Then the product feeding slide 116 can bring the remaining four stacks into position and the slide 113 can likewise convey them into the carton K. Here, the above-described sequence starts over again from the beginning (i.e. in FIG. 1).

[0129] It is thus possible to increase the throughput of the packaging machine 100 as a whole, i.e. the throughput is not limited by the stacking apparatus 111.