Box-opening device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10472108-B2
Application number	US-201616072494-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2016
Priority date	Jan 25, 2016
Publication date	Nov 12, 2019
Grant date	Nov 12, 2019

Abstract

Provided is a highly reliable box-opening device being capable of suppressing failures of a box-opening action regardless of a size of a cardboard box sheet. The box-opening device unfolds a sheet in which first and second side surfaces and third and fourth side surfaces overlap, and forms a square-tube-shaped cardboard box. The box-opening device may have a suction disk to grasp the first side surface, a main arm having suction disks to grasp the fourth side surface and changing a posture while grasping the fourth side surface, and a control part to control a movement of the main arm so that an initial action, in which a gap is formed between the first and second side surfaces and the third and fourth side surfaces, and a main action that follows the initial action, are executed as an action of unfolding the sheet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A box-opening device configured to unfold a folded cardboard box sheet in which a first side surface and a second side surface overlap with a third side surface and a fourth side surface and form a square-tube-shaped cardboard box in which the first side surface, the second side surface, the third side surface, and the fourth side surface are arranged in this order, the box-opening device comprising:
a first grasping part that grasps the first side surface;
a first arm that has a second grasping part that grasps the fourth side surface and changes a posture while the second grasping part grasps the fourth side surface;
a control part that controls a movement of the first arm so that an initial action, in which a gap is formed between the first and second side surfaces and the third and fourth side surfaces of the folded cardboard box sheet overlapping each other, and a main action, which is performed after the initial action and in which the cardboard box sheet is formed into a square tube shape, are executed as an action of unfolding the cardboard box sheet;
the first arm configured to move at or slower than a predetermined speed in the initial action, and the first arm configured to move faster than the predetermined speed in the main action; and
the control part controlling configured to control the movement of the first arm based on an angle formed by the first side surface and the fourth side surface, such that the initial action comes to an end when the angle reaches a target angle, the target angle being determined according to a length of a side of the cardboard box sheet.

2. The box-opening device according to claim 1 , wherein the target angle is determined according to a length of the fourth side surface of the cardboard box sheet.

3. The box-opening device according to claim 2 , wherein the target angle increases as the length of the fourth side surface increases.

4. The box-opening device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a second arm that has a third grasping part that grasps the third side surface, the second arm configured to change posture while the third grasping part grasps the third side surface, and
the control part configured to control a movement of the second arm.

5. The box-opening device according to claim 4 , wherein the second arm is linked to the first arm so as to be able to change posture relative to the first arm, and
during the main action, the control part moves the first arm while causing the second arm to change the posture relative to the first arm.

6. The box-opening device according to claim 5 , wherein at a start of the initial action, the control part moves the first arm without causing the posture of the second arm to change relative to the first arm, and before the end of the initial action, the control part causes the first arm to stop and the posture of the second arm to change relative to the first arm.

7. The box-opening device according to claim 4 , wherein at the end of the initial action, the control part controls the movement of the second arm so that the first side surface and the third side surface become parallel to each other and the second side surface and the fourth side surface become parallel to each other.

8. The box-opening device according to claim 4 , wherein the second arm is driven by an air cylinder.

9. The box-opening device according to claim 1 , wherein
the first grasping part releases the grasping of the first side surface after a start of the main action and before the end of the main action.

Assignees

• Ishida Seisakusho

Inventors

• Iwasa Tatsuya
• Takahashi Atsushi
• Yokota Yuji
• Noguchi Takeshi
• Arimatsu Tatsuya
• Okano Hiroshi

Classifications

• B31B50/006

  Controlling; Regulating; Measuring; Improving safety · CPC title

• B65H3/0808

  Suction grippers · CPC title

• B65B43/30

  by grippers engaging opposed walls, e.g. suction-operated · CPC title

• B65G47/91

  incorporating pneumatic, e.g. suction, grippers · CPC title

• B65B43/305 Primary

  specially adapted for boxes, cartons or carton blanks · CPC title