Method and system for automated stacking and loading wrapped facemasks into a carton in a manufacturing line

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10913559-B2
Application number	US-201515768170-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 16, 2015
Priority date	Oct 16, 2015
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

An automated method and system for stacking and loading wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line include conveying individual wrapped facemasks to a delivery location adjacent to a rotary wheel, the rotary wheel conveyor having individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference thereof. Each wrapped facemask is picked-up with a respective pick-up device on the rotary wheel conveyor and transported to a first carton staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel. At the first staging area, the facemasks are released from the rotary wheel conveyor and deposited into a carton.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An automated method for stacking and loading facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line, comprising:
conveying individual facemasks to a delivery location adjacent to a rotary wheel conveyor having a plurality of individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference thereof, the rotary wheel conveyor rotating in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis;
as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the delivery location, picking up each facemask with a respective pick-up device on the rotary wheel conveyor that moves over the facemasks and transporting the facemasks to a first carton staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor;
at the first carton staging area, releasing the facemasks from the rotary wheel conveyor and depositing the facemasks into a carton as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the first staging area; and
staging a plurality of the cartons at the first staging area, and when the carton is filled with a predefined number of the facemasks, moving the filled carton from the first staging area and moving an empty carton into the first staging area for subsequent filling.

2. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising providing a second staging area at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel, and staging a second carton at the second staging area, wherein when the first carton is filled to a predefined number of the facemasks, transporting the facemasks with the rotary wheel conveyor to the second staging area and filling the second carton with a defined number of the facemasks.

3. The method as in claim 2 , wherein the first and second cartons have a different size and are filled with a different number of facemasks.

4. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising rotating individual facemasks on the rotary wheel conveyor with the pick-up devices as needed to ensure that the facemasks are deposited into the carton in an alternating stack pattern.

5. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the facemasks are in an initial offset configuration on an upstream conveyor, and further comprising aligning the facemasks along a common conveying axis by removing the offset between adjacent facemasks as the facemasks are conveyed along the production line prior to reaching the rotary wheel.

6. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the pick-up devices are rotatable vacuum pucks spaced around the rotary wheel conveyor.

7. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the pick-up devices are stationary relative to the rotary wheel conveyor such that the facemasks are deposited into the carton in an orientation in which the facemasks were picked up by the pick-up devices.

8. The method as in claim 7 , wherein the facemasks are in an initial alternating pattern when picked up by the pick-up devices, and are deposited into the carton in this initial alternating pattern.

9. The method as in claim 8 , wherein a reject facemask on the rotary wheel conveyor bypasses the carton and is released from the rotary wheel conveyor at a reject location, and further comprising bypassing the carton with the immediately adjacent facemask on the rotary wheel conveyor so as to keep the alternating stack pattern of facemasks being deposited into the carton.

10. The method as in claim 1 ,
wherein upon release from the rotary wheel conveyor, the facemasks are guided into the cartons by guide structure configured at the first staging area.

11. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the individual facemasks are wrapped prior to reaching the delivery location.

12. An automated method for stacking and loading facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line, comprising:
conveying individual facemasks to a delivery location adjacent to a rotary wheel conveyor having a plurality of individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference thereof;
as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the delivery location, picking up each facemask with a respective pick-up device on the rotary wheel conveyor and transporting the facemasks to a first carton staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor;
at the first carton staging area, releasing the facemasks from the rotary wheel conveyor and depositing the facemasks into a carton as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the first staging area; and
wherein a downward force is generated by the pick-up devices and imparted to the facemasks upon releasing the facemasks from the rotary wheel conveyor.

13. An automated method for stacking and loading facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line, comprising:
conveying individual facemasks to a delivery location adjacent to a rotary wheel conveyor having a plurality of individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference thereof;
as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the delivery location, picking up each facemask with a respective pick-up device on the rotary wheel conveyor and transporting the facemasks to a first carton staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor;
at the first carton staging area, releasing the facemasks from the rotary wheel conveyor and depositing the facemasks into a carton as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the first staging area;
wherein a downward force is imparted to the facemasks upon releasing the facemasks from the rotary wheel conveyor; and
wherein the downward force is a pneumatic force generated by the pick-up devices.

14. A system for stacking and loading individual wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line, the system comprising:
a rotary wheel conveyor rotatable in a horizontal plane above the individual wrapped facemasks about a vertical axis;
a plurality of individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor;
a delivery location adjacent to the rotary wheel conveyor;
a first staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor;
wherein the individual wrapped facemasks conveyed to the delivery location are picked up from above with devices as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the delivery location;
wherein the individual facemasks are released from the pick-up devices and deposited into a carton at the first staging area as the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the first staging area; and
a second staging area at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor, wherein when the first carton is filled to a predefined number of the individual wrapped facemasks, the rotary wheel conveyor transports the individual wrapped facemasks to the second staging area for filling a second carton at the second staging area.

15. The system as in claim 14 , wherein the pick-up devices are rotatable relative to the rotary wheel conveyor.

16. The system as in claim 14 , wherein the pick-up devices are rotatable vacuum pucks spaced around the rotary wheel conveyor.

17. The system as in claim 14 , wherein the pick-up devices are vacuum pucks that generate a downward pneumatic force imparted to the individual wrapped facemasks upon releasing the individual wrapped facemasks from the rotary wheel conveyor.

18. A system for stacking and loading individual wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line, the system comprising:
a rotary wheel conveyor rotatable in a horizontal plane above the individual wrapped facemasks about a vertical axis;
a plurality of individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor;
a delivery location adjacent to the rotary wheel c

Assignees

• O & M Halyard Inc

Inventors

• Houde Ajay Y
• Harrington David Lamar
• Pamperin Mark Thomas
• Harris Nathan Craig
• Weber Joseph P

Classifications

• B65B61/06

  by cutting · CPC title

• B65B35/26

  by rotary conveyors · CPC title

• B65B9/02

  Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs · CPC title

• B65B57/14

  and operating to control, or stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged · CPC title

• B65B35/18

  by suction-operated grippers · CPC title