Devices for cutting and creasing corrugated carton blanks

June 16, 1964 c. i. elliott 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

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INVENTOR.

Charles I. Elliott

BY,, . ο Λ

ATTORNEY

June 16, 1964

C. I. ELLIOTT

3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

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INVENTOR.

Charles 1. Elliott r

ATTORNEY

June 16, 1964 c. i. elliott 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

Filed Feb. 12, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheex 3

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INVENTOR.

Charles I. Elliott

ATTORNEY

June 16, 1964 c. _{L ELLIO}tt 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

Filed Feb. 12, 1963 ₇ Sheets-Sheet 4

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Fig. 14

INVENTOR.

Charles I. Elliott

BY a

ATTORNEY

June 16, 1964

C. I. ELLIOTT

3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

Filed Feb. 12, 1963

Sheets-Sheex 5

<img file="US3137218A_D0007.tif" />

INVENTOR.

Charles I. Elliott ti, ATTORNEY

June 16, 1964 c. i. elliott 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

<img file="US3137218A_D0008.tif" />

INVENTOR.

Charles I. Elliott r k*» ATTORNEY

June 16, 1964 c. i. elliott 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR.CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

Filed Feb. 12, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 7

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INVENTOR.

Charles I. Elliott luy

ATTORNEY

3,137,218

Patented June 16, 1964

United States Patent Office cumference is produced from narrow tubular stock and a carton of large circumference from wide tubular stock.

The only resetting of the device is required when the height of the side walls or the degree of overlap of the 5 end closure flaps is to be changed.

The finished blank is characterized by closure panel separating slots which lie in register in the two thicknesses of the flat collapsed tubular blank. Further, the blank is characterized in that all creases are concave indenta10 tions, viewing the outside of the blank, and finally by the presence of two collapsing creases running the length of the side panels. The side panels are subsequently flattened out when the carton is being set up.

The various objects, features and advantages of this in15 vention will appear more fully from the detailed description which follows accompanied by drawings showing, for the purpose of illustraton, a representative form of device incorporating the present invention and illustrating the operation. The invention resides in certain new and 20 original features of construction and combination of elements as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Although the characteristic features of this invention which are believed to be novel will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself, its 25 objects and advantages, and the manner in which it may be carried out will be better understood by referring to the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of it in which:

FIGS. 1 to 5 are plan views of a carton blank illus30 trating successive steps in the manufacture of the blank;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan views of modified blanks;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional' view taken on line 8—8 in FIG. 2 to illustrate the type of creasing;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are plan views of the bottom and top 35 portions of a creasing and slotting device incorporating the invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11—11 in FIG. 9;

FIG, 12 is a sectional view of a blank deflector, the section being taken on line 12—12 in FIG. 9;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are perspective views of a foot operated press in which a slotting and creasing device incorporating the invention is installed, the operations shown being those of FIGS. 2 and 6;

FIGS. 15 and 16 are front and rear views of the press of FIGS. 13 and 14; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a carton in the process of being closed.

In the following description and in the claims various ⁵⁰ details will be identified by specific names for convenience.

The names, however, are intended to be generic in their application. . Corresponding reference numerals refer to corresponding elements in the several figures of the draw-- ings. ' ⁰⁰ The drawings accompanying, and forming part of, this specification disclose certain details for the purpose of explanation of broader aspects of the invention, but it should be understood that details may be modified in variθθ ous respects without departure from the principles of the invention, and that the invention may be incorporated in other structural forms than specifically shown.

. The cutting and creasing device is best described after first considering the operations which it is to perform.

’ The manufacture of a blank for a corrugated carton of a certain size and a certain form of end closure begins

3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS

Charles I. Elliott, Sea Girt, N.J., assignor to Charles I.

Elliott Corporation, Newark, Del., a corporation of

Filed Feb. 12,1963, Ser. No. 258,007

Claims. (CL 93—58.3)

This invention relates to improvements in cutting and creasing devices, more particularly, improvements in slotting and creasing devices for producing corrugated carton blanks from double faced corrugated carton board.

The invention provides a rather simple and relatively inexpensive device for the production of double faced corrugated cartons, one-size-at-a-time, or in small runs. The device enables even a small packaging or shipping plant to economically produce corrugated cartons to measure to fit individual shipments which may vary widely in volume or overall size.

Production of individual cartons to measure eliminates the need for excessive amounts of filler material, such as excelsior or crumpled newspaper to take up unused space in oversize standard cartons.

In this connection it has been proposed to manufacture corrugated cartons by feeding a strip of corrugated board through a creasing and slotting device consisting basically of a conventional centrally disposed creasing rule flanked at either end by a slotter or notcher in line with the creasing rule. The creasing rule cooperates with the usual female creasing element or make-ready in the opposite die member. The strip of corrugated board is advanced step by step between successive creasing and slotting operations, and the advance is so chosen as to produce box panels of the required size.

Advancing the board is an involved procedure which is carried out by hand is apt to lead to mistakes, except in the case of cartons, of square cross section, because the same dimension never occurs twice in succession, but a short panel is followed by a long panel which, in turn, is ⁴⁰followed by a short one and another long one. Then a terminal lap must be provided for in order to secure the ends of the blank together prior to assembling the carton. Thus, frequent resetting of stops is required.

In order to avoid, such inconvenience, it has been proposed to equip the aforesaid creaser and notcher With an automatic strip feeder which, after proper presetting, advances the strip properly to produce the required panels automatically. The automatic mechanism increases the cost of the device considerably and makes it unavailable for a small packaging or shipping plant.

The invention provides a device which, is primarily designed to operate with tubular collapsed double faced corrugated board. The two thicknesses of the tubular blank are slotted and creased simultaneously, the creasing being carried out by male creasing rules advanced towards each other to impress two concave creases into the two thicknesses of the board from opposite sides at the same time.

Further, the device performs the slotting and creasing operation in a sequence Of four steps one at a time, one operation for each corner of the blank.

This arrangement makes it unnecessary to adjust the device for long cartons, short cartons, cartons of small or cartons of large circumference. The operator produces a long carton from a long piece of tubular stock and a short carton from a short piece. A carton of small cir3,137,218 with the selection of tubular flat collapsed double faced corrugated carton stock of the required width w (FIG. 1). Double the width w equals the circumference of the carton, i.e., width of top panel plus width of bottom panel plus twice the height of the side walls. The tubular starting material is prefabricated in certain production lengths limited only by the ability of the operator to handle them or the availability of space to store them. The seam of the starting material may be central and taped, as shown in FIG. 1, or it may be overlapped and glued or stitched. The seam may be off center, or even at one lateral edge, in which case it would be taped. In all instances the lateral edges 22 and 23 of the tube are fold lines along which the tube is collapsed.

The operator cuts a piece A of a predetermined length Z sufficient to produce the carton body and the end closure panels.

The blank A of FIG. 1 is now inserted with one of its corners into the cutting and creasing device which, in a single operation, produces a transverse crease 24, a longitudinal crease 25, both creases extending generally only part way across or the length of the blank, and a cut, slot or notch 26. The slot 26 extends through both thicknesses of the corrugated board, hence the slot in the top thickness lies in register with the slot in the bottom thickness. The creases are produced by oppositely disposed male creasing rules 27, 28 as shown in FIG. 8. The creases in the top and in the bottom thickness are identical and are concave surface grooves impressed into the board. The result of the first operation is shown in FIG. 2.

The blank is then turned over, side to side, and the second corner inserted into the device which then creases and slots the second corner in the same manner as the first. The transverse crease now extends fully across the blank which appears as shown in FIG. 3. The tape 21 is now on the underside.

The blank is next rotated end to end and the operation is repeated at the third corner. The result is shown in FIG. 4. One of the longitudinal creases 25 now extends the full length of the blank.

Finally the blank A is turned over side to side and the last corner is slotted and creased. This completes the formation of the carton blank A' which is shown in FIG. 5.

The basic layout of the slotting and creasing die is shown in FIGS. 9 to 11. FIG. 9 shows the portion which would normally represent the bottom portion of the die. FIG. 10 shows the top portion which would be inverted side-to-side and placed on top of the bottom portion. For the sake of simplicity both portions are shown as comprising full die plates, even though in actual practice it is more convenient to reduce the area of the top assembly for better visibility, as will later be seen.

The bottom die plate 29 has male creasing rules mounted on it in a conventional manner. The detailed manner of mounting is not shown in order to keep the illustration simple. The transverse creasing rule 124 is disposed at right angles with respect to the longitudinal creasing rule 125. The point 30 is the apex of the right angle and the rule 124 extends beyond the apex. A female slotting tool 31 is mounted in line with the rule 125 beyond the apex 30.

A guideway 32 extends through the die plate 29 at an angle of 45 degrees to the rules 124 and 125. The guideway may be produced by milling, or by appropriately spacing the two pieces of a two-piece plate. Stop carriages 33 and 34 are slidable in the guideway 32 and carry stops 35, 36. The face 37 of stop 35 thus remains parallel to rule 124 and face 38 remains parallel to rule 125 for all positions of adjustment of the stops along the guideway 32.

The carriages 33 and 34 are provided with internally threaded sleeves 39 and 40, one sleeve being threaded left-handedly, the other being right-handed.

A spindle 41, right-handed at one end and left-handed at the other end, extends through the sleeves 33 and 34. Rotation of the spindle in one direction moves the stops closer towards the rules and rotation in the opposite direction moves the stops farther away.

The bottom plate further carries cylindrical posts 42 on which bushings 43 of the top die plate 44 (FIG 10) fit slidably.

Transverse and longitudinal male creasing rules 224 and 225 are mounted on the top die plate 44 to match the rules 124, 125 on the bottom plate 29. A male slotting knife 45 is mounted in a position to fit the female slotting tool 31 and may be provided with a serrated or stepped face 46, as in common practice.

As shown in FIG. 11, the spindle may consist of two pieces 141 and 241 coupled centrally by a coupling to facilitate manufacture and installation. The coupling 47 may be releasable, one end being pinned to spindle portion 141 at 48, the other end being a slotted clamp 49 through which a bolt 50 extends. The cylindrical end 51 of spindle portion 241 fits the slotted bore of the clamp and both spindle portions may be interengaged by tightening the bolt 50 and disengaged by loosening it.

As shown in FIG. 9, both stops 35 and 36 are spaced equal distances from the rules. Assuming the spacing to be four units of length, a carton will be produced having side walls of a height of eight units and having outer end closure panels which abut centrally, each panel being of a length of four units.

By adjusting stop 35 to a distance of six units an overlapping end closure is produced. The corresponding blank B' is shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 shows a blank C' in which the outer end closure flaps are short, three units in length, thus leaving a central ventilating slot in the carton end of a slot width of two units.

It is readily apparent that the setting of stop 36 determines the height of the side walls and that the setting of stop 35 determines the length of the closure flaps.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the lower die plate 29 may be fitted with flat springs or ramp elements 52 in advance of the rules 124 and 125 for guiding a blank which is being inserted in the direction of arrow 53 past the rules and against the respective stops 35 and 36, thus preventing the blank from being caught at the creasing rules.

FIG. 13 shows a foot pedal operated press on which a slotting and creasing die of the type shown in FIGS. 9-12 is installed.

The bottom die plate 29 has a guideway 32 in which the carriages 33, 34 for the stops move, one stop being visible at 35.

Graduations are affixed to the die plate 29 adjacent the guideways, the graduations being readable against the edge of the carriage. In the position shown, the scale 54 reads four inches, i.e., the length of the end closure panels will be four inches. Scale 55 reads eight inches, i.e., the height of the side walls will be eight inches.

Hand wheels 56 and 57 are mounted on the ends of the spindle 41. A blank A is inserted into the device for performance of the first operation shown in FIG. 2. The blank obscures other portions of the bottom die plate.

The upper die plate 44 is cut away for better visibility of the stops and is mounted on the yoke 58 by means of arms 59.

Since the creasing rules and the slotting elements cannot be seen their location is indicated by broken lines, line 124 indicating the location of transverse rule 124, line 125 indicating the location of longitudinal rule 125 and lines 145 indicating the position of the slotting knife 45.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sufficiently explanatory of the next two operations and no views of the machine are shown for these operations. FIG. 14 shows the machine performing the final operation. Pieces of board 60 removed by the slotting operation have passed through the female slotting element (31 in FIG. 9) and fallen to the floor. The slotting and creasing operations are complete, and the blank has reached the stage A' (FIG. 5).

3,137,218

In performing the operations, the operator instead of rotating the blank end to· end after the second operation, turned it over end to end, thus bringing the tape seam of the blank to the top side. Subsequently the blank was turned over, side to side, for the final operation shown in 5 FIG. 14 which brought the tape to· the bottom.

FIG. 15 shows the machine as seen from the operator’s side. The yoke 58 is raised by the force of the spring 61 attached at its bottom end to a foot treadle which operates the yoke through connecting rods 62. The bot- 10 tom rules are visible at 124 in front of the stops 36 and . beyond the apex 30. The serrated slotting knife 45 is to the left of the stop 35 and the top rules are visible at 224 and 225.

FIG.. 16 shows the machine from the rear, from which 15 direction the stops 35 and 36, the male slotting knife 45 . and its serrated cutting face 46 are best seen. · ‘. / : FIG. 17 shows .the corrugated carton A in the process of closing of the last outer end panel. The side panels are flattened Out along their collapsing fold lines as seen 20 at 22.