AUTO-MASK FOR PACKAGING

Abstract

Apparatus for automatically attaching a decorative mask to an underlying tray, where the tray has apertures for the placement therein of customer products and the mask has apertures corresponding to those of the tray. The apparatus includes mechanisms for placing the masks and the trays along conveyor belts, for applying glue to the top surface of the tray for enabling the tray and mask to be attached, and sensing means for determining the respective locations of the trays and the masks to ensure precise registration of the apertures of the masks with the corresponding apertures of the tray.

Claims

1. Apparatus for automating the attachment of a mask to a tray, where the tray has cut outs for the placement therein of customer products and the mask has cut outs corresponding to those of the tray, comprising: a tray auto-feed mechanism for receiving trays and placing them sequentially onto a speed controllable first conveyor belt for transporting the trays; a mask auto-feed mechanism for receiving masks and placing them sequentially onto a speed controllable second conveyor belt for transporting the masks; a gluing mechanism for applying glue to one of the bottom surface of the mask or the top surface of the tray; a tray edge detector responsive to sensing an edge of a tray for producing a signal indicative thereof; a mask edge detector responsive to sensing an edge of a mask for producing a signal indicative thereof; circuit means responsive to the signals produced by the tray and mask edge detectors for generating signals controlling the relative motion of the first and second conveyor belts to ensure precise alignment of the cut outs of the masks with the corresponding cut outs of the trays.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each tray includes: (a) a top central surface of width W and length L, with said cut outs formed therein, having a front end and a rear end; (b) a retractable extension flap of length Fd attached to and extending from said front end of the central surface; and (c) a retractable extension flap of length Fd attached to and extending from the rear end of the central surface: and wherein each mask has a surface of width W and length L intended to be overlaid in alignment over the top central surface of the tray; and wherein said apparatus includes an offset register adapted to receive the value of Fd and for supplying a signal corresponding thereto to said circuit means; and wherein said circuit means includes a control mechanism responsive to said Fd generated signal for generating a signal indicative of the value of Fd and applying Fd generated responsive signals to said control mechanism to ensure precise alignment of the surface area of the tray with that of the mask and of the cut outs of the masks with the corresponding cut outs of the trays.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said gluing mechanism includes a drum positioned along, and overlying, said first conveyor belt for applying glue to the top surface of each tray.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein each one of said trays is formed of any material having qualities and characteristics of the following materials: cardboard, paperboard, chipboard, or solid bleach sulfite paperboard.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein each one of said masks is formed of any material having qualities and characteristics of the following materials: solid bleached sulfate, thermo mechanical pulp, folding box board, solid bleached sulfate with metalized polyester laminate, solid bleached sulfate with metalized transfer, thermo mechanical pulp with metalized polyester laminate, thermo mechanical pulp with metalized transfer, folding box board with metalized polyester laminate, or folding box board with metalized transfer.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said trays are formed of a corrugated fluted material.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said mask is a decorative mask designed to provide a deluxe appearance.

8. A method for automating the attachment of a mask to a tray, where the tray has cut outs for the placement therein of customer products and the mask has cut outs corresponding to those of the tray, comprising the steps of: automatically feeding trays onto a speed controllable first conveyor belt for transporting the trays; automatically feeding masks onto a speed controllable second conveyor belt for transporting the masks; applying glue to one of the top surface of the tray and the bottom surface of the mask; sensing an edge of a tray as it is moving along said first conveyor belt the for producing a first signal indicative of the presence and location of a tray; sensing an edge of a mask as it is moving along said second conveyor belt for producing a second signal indicative of the presence and location of a mask; and feeding said first and second signals to a control mechanism for controlling the relative movement of the first and second conveyor belts to ensure precise alignment of the cut outs of the masks with the corresponding cut outs of the trays.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein each tray includes: (a) a top central surface of width W and length L, in which said cut outs are formed, with a front end and a rear end; (b) a retractable extension flap of length Fd attached to and extending from said front end of the central surface; and (c) a retractable extension flap of length Fd attached to and extending from the rear end of the central surface: and wherein each mask has a surface of width W and length L intended to be overlaid in alignment over the top central surface of the tray; and further including the step of: supplying the value of Fd to an offset register adapted to receive the value of Fd and generating a control signal corresponding thereto; and applying said control signal to said control mechanism to ensure precise alignment of the surface area of the tray with that of the mask and of the cut outs of the masks with the corresponding cut outs of the trays.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said gluing mechanism includes a drum positioned along, and overlying, said first conveyor belt for applying glue to the top surface of each tray.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein each one of said trays is formed of any material having qualities and characteristics of the following materials: cardboard, paperboard, chipboard, or solid bleach sulfite paperboard.

12. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein each one of said masks is formed of any material having qualities and characteristics of the following materials: solid bleached sulfate, thermo mechanical pulp, folding box board, solid bleached sulfate with metalized polyester laminate, solid bleached sulfate with metalized transfer, thermo mechanical pulp with metalized polyester laminate, thermo mechanical pulp with metalized transfer, folding box board with metalized polyester laminate, or folding box board with metalized transfer.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said trays are formed of a corrugated fluted material.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said mask is a decorative mask designed to provide a deluxe appearance

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In the accompanying drawings which are not drawn to scale, like reference characters denote like components; and

[0023] FIG. 1 is a top view of a tray (also referred to as a substrate or insert) with cut outs (pockets or apertures) intended to hold selected products;

[0024] FIG. 2 IS a top view of a deluxe mask designed to cover the exposedsurface of the tray;

[0025] FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional drawing of the mask of FIG. 2;

[0026] FIG. 3 is a simplified isometric drawing of a box/package in which a mask and tray are placed ready for selected items to be mounted in the pockets;

[0027] FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional diagram of the mask, tray and box of FIG. 3;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a highly simplified functional block diagram of a machine and some components for automatically placing a mask onto a tray in accordance with the invention; and

[0029] FIG. 5 is a highly simplified electro-mechanical drawing of parts of a machine for automatically placing a mask onto a tray in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a tray 10 designed and formed with cut outs 101, 102 and 103 (also identified as A, B and C, respectively) to hold preselected products. The three cut outs (also referred to as apertures or pockets) are shown for purpose of illustration only; there could be fewer or more cut outs. [0031] The tray 10 has a top surface area of length L and width W which will define the exposed area of the tray. As shown in FIG. 1, the tray 10 includes a front retractable extension, flap 12 of length Fd which extends from foldable line 121 to front edge 11 and a rear retractable extension, flap 14, which extends from foldable line 123 to rear edge 13. The flaps 12 and 14 each have a length Fd and are foldable along the fold lines 121 and 123, respectively. The length Fd varies as a function of the size (depth) of the customer product intended to be placed with the cut out and the depth of the package (box) into which it is to be placed. The length Fd is selected to accommodate the positioning of the tray 10 within a box 30 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. Note that the tray 10 may have side extensions/flaps (not shown). As noted above, the tray 10 may be formed of paperboard, cardboard, chipboard, SBS paperboard, or any like materials which may in turn be corrugated or un-corrugated.

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 2A, there is shown a mask 20 designed and formed to have a length L and a width W to cover the top exposed surface of the tray 10 with cut-outs (apertures) A, B and C to correspond to the cut outs (apertures) of the tray. The masks and the trays with their respective cut outs are formed using computer aided die cutting machines (not shown). In any event, the masks 20 are formed with cut outs corresponding to the cut outs of the trays. The cut outs of the mask are preferably, but not always necessarily, identical to those of the underlying tray. They may be made to vary in shape to cover part of the underlying tray cut out. The mask 20 may be of any suitable material (e.g., a printed board or sheet, or any material having similar characteristics to the following: SBS (solid bleached sulfate), TMP (thermo mechanical pulp), FBB (folding box board), SBS with Metalized Polyester Laminate, SBS with Metalized transfer, TMP with Metalized Polyester Laminate, TMP with Metalized transfer, FBB with Metalized Polyester Laminate, or FBB with Metalized transfer. The thickness (t) of the mask may range from less than 8 mils to more than 18 mils. As already noted, the top surface of the mask may be given any desired rich or exotic appearance.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 3A, there is shown a mask 20 overlying and attached to the exposed surface of a tray 10 inserted in a box 30, ready to receive products in the pockets A, B and C. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 showing the tray 10 with mask 20 attached positioned within a box/package 30, ready for the placement of consumer goods (not shown) onto and within the pockets. Note the folded flaps 12 and 14 rest on the inside bottom layer of box 30. The length Fd of the flaps will generally be a function of the size of the customer product to be placed in the box and hence the height (H) of the box, as discussed above.

[0034] FIG. 4 is an idealized block diagram showing functionally an apparatus for applying a mask to a tray in accordance with the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a mask 20 and a tray 10 are fed into a machine 400 such that: (a) the tray 10 is fed to and trough the machine by a lower registration carrier 41 which is motor driven and whose speed can be controlled (it could be but need not be servo motor driven); and (b) the mask 20 is fed to and through the machine by an upper registration carrier 43 which is motor driven and whose speed can be controlled. At least one of the two carriers (41, 43) should preferably be driven by a servo motor to ensure controlling the registration of the mask and tray. A selected number of trays 10 may be stacked and fed to the machine 400 via an auto-feed mechanism 45 and a selected number of masks 20 may be stacked and fed to machine 400 via an auto-feed mechanism 47.

[0035] The machine includes apparatus 402 for applying glue to the top surface of the tray. Alternatively the glue could be applied to the bottom surface of the mask (not shown). In one embodiment, the glue applicator was a drum. But, any known glue applicator could be used instead. The machine 400 also includes a tray edge detector sensor 401 to sense the front edge 11 of a tray 10 and a mask edge detector sensor 403 to sense the front edge 21 of a mask 20. Edge detector sensors 401 and 403 produce signals fed to an edge detector processor 405. The offset distance Fd of the tray between its front edge 11 and its fold line 121 is fed into an offset register 407. Note that the distance Fd will have different values for different sized tray flaps to accommodate boxes 30 of different heights/depths. The output of edge detector processor 405 and the output of offset register 407 are fed into a central processing unit (CPU) 409 which is programmed to control the movements of carriers 41 and 43. The central processing unit 409 then applies signals to speed controllers 411 and 413 which control, respectively, the speed and movement of lower carrier 41 and upper carrier 43.

[0036] Lower carrier 41 and upper carrier 43 may be vacuum belt driven devices which are used to carry the trays and masks. The speed of each carrier is controlled and the carriers are deployed relative to each other to ensure the mating of the mask and the trays in a predetermined manner.

The machine 400 includes a pinch point mechanism (not shown in detail) at the convergence of the two conveyor belts (41, 43) for mating the mask . and tray. In one embodiment, the conveyor belt 41 carrying the trays was run at a constant speed, but the speed could be controlled (i.e. varied) but once set remained constant. The speed of the conveyor belt 43 carrying the masks was varied in response to signals from the edge detectors to make sure there is correspondence of the cut outs in the trays and masks. Machine 400 includes a pinch point, at the convergence of the conveyor belts which allows the mask and tray to marry with their cut outs being in correspondence.

[0037] Machine 400 thus functions to apply and attach a mask 20 to a tray 10 such that there is accurate registration whereby the edges 21 and 23 of mask 20 correspond exactly to the fold lines 121 and 123, respectively of tray 10. As noted, machine 400 includes edge detection circuitry for determining the edge of the tray and the distance Fd and speed controllers 413 (for the upper carrier) and 411 (for the lower carrier) to ensure that the mask is accurately and automatically positioned on the tray.

[0038] Thus, in accordance with the invention a carrier 41 carries trays and another carrier 43 carries masks, with the carriers being deployed relative to each such that the mask is glued onto the tray and the mask is attached to cover the exposed surface of the tray in registration with the apertures formed on the mask corresponding to the apertures formed on and within the tray.

[0039] As noted above, per the embodiment of FIG. 4, a lower carrier 41 carries trays 10 and an upper carrier carries masks 20. It should be understood that these roles could be reversed. The glue applicator may be a drum or any other suitable device for applying a uniform layer of glue to the top surface of the tray. After the glue is applied carrier 41 continues to carry each tray until the point where each tray has a mask applied to it in register. The carriers may have their own servo drive. This enables the accuracy needed to automatically register the auto-mask apertures to the y.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown some of the mechanical and electrical components of the machine 400 used to accurately and automatically place a mask onto a tray. In FIG. 5 the flow of the trays and masks is shown going from right to left. The masks and the trays are fed onto an alignment device that is servo motor driven (e.g., servo motors 411, 413 for carriers 41 and 43, respectively). The servo motor (e.g., 411) controlling the lower carrier 41 will help speed up or slow down movement of a tray so a mask can be accurately placed onto the tray while coming off the upper carrier 43 in registration with the tray. The servo motor (e.g., 413) controlling the upper carrier 43 will help speed up or slow down movement of a mask so the mask can be accurately placed onto the tray while coming off the upper carrier 43 in registration with the tray. This is done using edge detection sensors and circuits.

[0041] As discussed above, trays 10 are fed directly onto and into a servo driven registration unit. For example, trays 10 are fed via auto-feed mechanism 45 onto one end of a carrier 41. As the tray travels along the carrier, glue can be applied to the top surface of each tray via a glue drum 402 so a mask can be attached thereto. As the tray moves along the carrier 41 a tray edge detector 401, positioned along carrier 41, senses the front edge of the tray 10 and produces a signal 441 applied to an edge detection processing unit 405. Masks 20 are fed directly onto and into a servo driven registration unit. For example, masks 20 are fed via auto-feed mechanism 47 onto one end of a carrier 43. As the mask moves along the carrier 43 a mask edge detector 403 positioned along carrier 43 senses the front edge of the mask 20 and produces a signal 443 applied to an edge detection processing unit 405. Additional sensors (e.g., 501, 503) may be incorporated in the machine to refine the detection scheme.

[0042] As noted above, an offset register 407 is fed information pertaining to the distance Fd (i.e., the distance between the front edge of the tray 11 and the fold line 121 of a tray). This variable (Fd) is needed to be taken into account to ensure that correspondence is established between the fold line of a tray and the front edge 21 of a mask.

[0043] The output of the edge detection processor unit 405 and the output of an offset register 407, which takes into account the distance Fd of the front (or rear) flap of the tray, are applied to a programmed computer unit (CPU) 409 to ensure that the movements of carrier belts 41 and 43 are controlled to ensure proper registration. This may be accomplished, as shown in FIG. 5, by having an output (461) from CPU 409 control servo motor 411 driving conveyor belt (carrier) 41 and another output (463) from CPU 409 control servo motor 413 driving conveyor belt (carrier) 43.

[0044] Both the upper and lower registration units as well as the glue pot all run on the edge detection feedback system so each mask and tray can be accurately placed to create a registered finished piece.

[0045] It should be appreciated that the masks may be applied to the trays by having the trays and the masks carried in parallel in the same direction, as suggested in the drawings. However, it should be understood that the masks may be applied to the trays in a perpendicular direction to the travel of the trays.