US3698151A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for packaging bottled products in basket-style carriers
Assignee: Federal Paper Board Co Inc
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Filing: 1970-09-08
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Granted: 1972-10-17
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Expires: 1990-09-08
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for continuous packaging of bottled beverages, or the like, in basket-style carriers wherein the carriers are advanced by an overhead conveyor, in opened-up condition with bottom wall forming flaps, which initially depend in the plane of the side walls being hinged to an upwardly inclined position while the carriers travel down an inclined path, for assembly with groups of the bottled beverages which are advanced on a bottom conveyor to an assembly area where successive carriers are forced in telescoping relation down over groups of bottles and the bottom wall forming panels of the carriers which have been hinged upwardly are engaged and drawn downwardly by plate members carried on endless conveyors traveling in vertical paths on opposite sides of the groups of bottles, after which heat activatable adhesive on the bottom wall forming flaps is activated and the flaps which have been swung down upon advance beyond the draw down plates are plowed into bottom wall forming position with overlapping margins in seam forming engagement so as to complete the packages.
Inventors
- 👤 Edwin L Arneson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 08:23
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65B; B65B21/00; B65B21/24; B65B21/242
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
283 words
A machine for assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment laterally of the center partition structure and said carriers having cooperating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which are adapted to be secured together to form a bottom wall, said machine comprising a bottle conveyor having a horizontally disposed top run on which two rows of bottles may be advanced to an assembly station, means to space the bottles so as to arrange them in successive transversely aligned pairs and groups of predetermined number, a carrier conveyor arranged above the bottle conveyor and inclined downwardly in the direction of advance toward said assembly station, said carrier conveyor having means to support thereon successive carriers in set-up empty condition with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation, means to swing said bottom wall forming flaps to an upwardly and outwardly inclined position, means to align each carrier with a group of bottles advancing on the bottle carrier beneath the same, means at said assembly station for engaging portions of each carrier and for pulling said carrier down onto a group of bottles while the group of bottles and the associated carrier are advancing continuously, means for folding the bottom wall forming flaps on the carrier inwardly and upwardly beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and means for securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
283 words
A machine for assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment laterally of the center partition structure and said carriers having cooperating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which are adapted to be secured together to form a bottom wall, said machine comprising a bottle conveyor having a horizontally disposed top run on which two rows of bottles may be advanced to an assembly station, means to space the bottles so as to arrange them in successive transversely aligned pairs and groups of predetermined number, a carrier conveyor arranged above the bottle conveyor and inclined downwardly in the direction of advance toward said assembly station, said carrier conveyor having means to support thereon successive carriers in set-up empty condition with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation, means to swing said bottom wall forming flaps to an upwardly and outwardly inclined position, means to align each carrier with a group of bottles advancing on the bottle carrier beneath the same, means at said assembly station for engaging portions of each carrier and for pulling said carrier down onto a group of bottles while the group of bottles and the associated carrier are advancing continuously, means for folding the bottom wall forming flaps on the carrier inwardly and upwardly beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and means for securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means to swing said bottom wall forming flaps to an upwardly and outwardly inclined position comprises plow members extending along the path of said carrier conveyor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
A machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein guide means are provided at said assembly station for retaining the bottom wall forming flaps in their upwardly and outwardly inclined position while the carrier is drawn down over the associated cluster of bottles and advanced through said assembly station.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
52 words
A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for engaging each carrier and for pulling said carrier down onto a group of bottles comprises blade-like members which are disposed to engage the carrier adjacent the hinge connection between a carrier side wall and the associated bottom wall forming flap.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
A machine as set forth in claim 4 wherein said blade-like members are mounted for movement in a generally vertical plane.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for engaging each carrier and for pulling said carrier down onto a group of bottles comprises an elongated bar member mounted for travel in a generally vertical path.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
A Machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said bar member is mounted on endless traveling chains disposed alongside the path of advance of said carrier and the associated group of bottles.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
274 words
A machine for assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment transversely of the center partition structure and having cooperating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which flaps are adapted to be overlapped and secured to form a bottom wall, said machine comprising a conveyor having a horizontally disposed run on which two rows of bottles may be advanced in longitudinal alignment to an assembly station, means to index the bottles so as to arrange them in closely spaced, transversely aligned pairs, a conveyor arranged above the bottle conveyor and inclined downwardly in the direction of advance toward said assembly station, said conveyor having means to support thereon a series of cellular bottle carriers in set-up empty condition with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation and associated means to bring said carriers into vertical alignment with groups of bottles advancing on the bottle conveyor beneath the same, traveling means at said assembly station for engaging bottom portions of said carriers at opposite sides thereof and for pulling each successive carrier down onto a group of bottles while said bottles and carries are advancing in a continuous stream, means for folding the bottom forming flaps on each successive carrier beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and means for securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
274 words
A machine for assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment transversely of the center partition structure and having cooperating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which flaps are adapted to be overlapped and secured to form a bottom wall, said machine comprising a conveyor having a horizontally disposed run on which two rows of bottles may be advanced in longitudinal alignment to an assembly station, means to index the bottles so as to arrange them in closely spaced, transversely aligned pairs, a conveyor arranged above the bottle conveyor and inclined downwardly in the direction of advance toward said assembly station, said conveyor having means to support thereon a series of cellular bottle carriers in set-up empty condition with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation and associated means to bring said carriers into vertical alignment with groups of bottles advancing on the bottle conveyor beneath the same, traveling means at said assembly station for engaging bottom portions of said carriers at opposite sides thereof and for pulling each successive carrier down onto a group of bottles while said bottles and carries are advancing in a continuous stream, means for folding the bottom forming flaps on each successive carrier beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and means for securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
57 words
A machine as set forth in claim 8 wherein said means for engaging portions of said carriers and for pulling each successive carrier onto a group of bottles comprises elongated traveling bar members positioned to engage portions of said carriers and to exert a downward force on each successive carrier while permitting the same to advance continuously.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
A machine as set forth in claim 9 wherein said bar members are positioned to engage said carriers adjacent the hinged connection of the bottom wall forming flaps with the associated side walls.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
282 words
A machine for assembly groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment transversely of the center partition structure and having co-operating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which are adapted to be overlapped and secured to form a bottom wall, said machine comprising a conveyor having a horizontally disposed run on which two rows of bottles may be advanced to an assembly station, means to index the bottles so as to arrange them in transversely aligned pairs, a conveyor arranged above the bottle conveyor and inclined downwardly in the direction of advance toward said assembly station, said conveyor having means to support thereon a series of bottle carriers in set-up empty condition with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation and associated means to bring said carriers into vertical alignment with groups of bottles advancing on the bottle conveyor beneath the same, means at said assembly station for engaging portions of said carriers and for pulling each successive carrier down onto a group of bottles while said bottles and carriers are advancing in a continuous stream which comprises blade forming bar members mounted for movement in generally vertical paths adjacent the paths of advance of the carriers, means for folding the bottom forming flaps oN each successive carrier beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and means for securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
282 words
A machine for assembly groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment transversely of the center partition structure and having co-operating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which are adapted to be overlapped and secured to form a bottom wall, said machine comprising a conveyor having a horizontally disposed run on which two rows of bottles may be advanced to an assembly station, means to index the bottles so as to arrange them in transversely aligned pairs, a conveyor arranged above the bottle conveyor and inclined downwardly in the direction of advance toward said assembly station, said conveyor having means to support thereon a series of bottle carriers in set-up empty condition with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation and associated means to bring said carriers into vertical alignment with groups of bottles advancing on the bottle conveyor beneath the same, means at said assembly station for engaging portions of said carriers and for pulling each successive carrier down onto a group of bottles while said bottles and carriers are advancing in a continuous stream which comprises blade forming bar members mounted for movement in generally vertical paths adjacent the paths of advance of the carriers, means for folding the bottom forming flaps oN each successive carrier beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and means for securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
36 words
A machine as set forth in claim 11 wherein said blade forming bar members are elongated bar members mounted for movement in generally vertical paths along opposite sides of the path of advance of said carriers.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
55 words
A machine as set forth in claim 12 wherein said bar members are carried in an endless path by conveyor means operating in timed relation to the advance of the carriers and associated bottles so as to engage a bar member with each successive carrier and pull the carrier down over a group of bottles.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
58 words
A machine as set forth in claim 12 wherein said bar members are mounted on pairs of endless chains which are disposed on opposite sides of the path of advance of said carriers and operated so that the bar members engage successive carriers adjacent the hinged connection of the bottom wall forming flaps with the carrier side walls.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
56 words
A machine as set forth in claim 8 wherein the means for folding and securing said bottom wall forming flaps comprises plow members for engaging said flaps so as to fold said flaps inwardly into margin overlapping relation and a device for applying hot air to activate an adhesive material on said bottom wall forming flaps.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
77 words
A machine as set forth in claim 15 wherein said device for applying hot air to said overlapped margins of said bottom wall forming flaps comprises an elongated hollow member disposed adjacent the exit end of said assembly station which forms a support for said carrier and bottle assemblies and which is connected to a hot air supply, with perforations in a wall thereof to direct hot air onto a seam forming area of an overlapped margin.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
251 words
A method of assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment laterally of the center partition structure and said carriers having cooperating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which are adapted to be secured together to form a bottom wall, which method comprises continuously advancing two lines of bottles in a horizontally disposed path to an assembly station, spacing the bottles so as to arrange them in successive transversely aligned pairs and groups of predetermined number, continuously advancing a line of carriers in a path which is inclined downwardly and in the direction of said assembly station with the carriers in set-up empty condition and with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation, swinging the bottom wall forming flaps to an upwardly and outwardly inclined position and aligning each carrier with a group of bottles advancing beneath the same, engaging portions of each carrier and pulling said carrier down onto a group of bottles while the group of bottles and the associated carrier are advancing continuously, folding the bottom wall forming flaps on the carrier inwardly and upwardly beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
251 words
A method of assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers wherein the carriers are characterized, when set up, by side and end walls with the side walls disposed on opposite sides of a center handle and partition structure and connected thereto by cross straps forming two parallel rows of cells which are in paired alignment laterally of the center partition structure and said carriers having cooperating bottom forming flaps hinged to the bottom edges of the side walls, which are adapted to be secured together to form a bottom wall, which method comprises continuously advancing two lines of bottles in a horizontally disposed path to an assembly station, spacing the bottles so as to arrange them in successive transversely aligned pairs and groups of predetermined number, continuously advancing a line of carriers in a path which is inclined downwardly and in the direction of said assembly station with the carriers in set-up empty condition and with the bottom forming flaps in depending relation, swinging the bottom wall forming flaps to an upwardly and outwardly inclined position and aligning each carrier with a group of bottles advancing beneath the same, engaging portions of each carrier and pulling said carrier down onto a group of bottles while the group of bottles and the associated carrier are advancing continuously, folding the bottom wall forming flaps on the carrier inwardly and upwardly beneath the group of bottles in the cells of the carrier and securing said flaps in bottom wall forming relation.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
69 words
A method of assembling groups of bottles in cellular basket type bottle carriers as set forth in claim 17 and engaging each carrier adjacent the hinged connection of the side walls with the bottom wall forming flaps and exerting a downward pull on the carrier while it is advancing so as to force the carrier downwardly onto the bottles and permit the bottom wall forming flaps to be closed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3491508A
Cited
US3521427A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-17 | 1976-04-17 | 1976-10-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-17 | 1980-04-17 | 1980-10-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-17 | 1984-04-17 | 1984-10-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |