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Crate-erecting machine

Crate-erecting machine description/claims

The present invention relates generally to the erection of collapsible crates and, in particular, to crate-erecting machines for erecting collapsible crates.

Some grocery store chains in Australia now require their fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers to ship produce to them in collapsible plastic crates. The grocery store chains typically supply the crates to their fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers in a collapsed configuration so that their suppliers consequently need to erect the crates themselves.

For example, one grocery store chain in Australia requires its fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers to ship produce to them in erected collapsible plastic crates of the type depicted in FIG. 1. The crate which is depicted in FIG. 1 includes a bottom wall panel, a pair of upstanding and opposing side wall panels which are hinged to the bottom wall panel, and a pair of upstanding and opposing end wall panels which are hinged to the bottom wall panel and which are latched to the upstanding side wall panels so that the end wall panels and the side wall panels are thereby inhibited from collapsing.

The grocery store chain supplies its collapsible plastic crates to its fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers in a collapsed configuration which is depicted in FIG. 2 so that its suppliers consequently need to erect the crates themselves. In the collapsed configuration, the end wall panels overlie the bottom wall panel, and the side wall panels overlie the end wall panels. The crate is erected by firstly pivoting the side wall panels relative to the bottom wall panel so that the side wall panels are upstanding with respect to the bottom wall panel. The end wall panels are then pivoted relative to the bottom wall panels so that the end wall panels are upstanding with respect to the bottom wall panel, and so that the end wall panels are latched to the side wall panels.

Another grocery store chain in Australia requires its fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers to ship produce to them in erected collapsible plastic crates of the type depicted in FIG. 3. Similarly to the crate which is depicted in FIG. 1, the crate which is depicted in FIG. 3 includes a bottom wall panel, a pair of upstanding and opposing side wall panels which are hinged to the bottom wall panel, and a pair of upstanding and opposing end wall panels which are hinged to the bottom wall panel and which are latched to the upstanding side wall panels so that the end wall panels and the side wall panels are thereby inhibited from collapsing.

The grocery store chain in question supplies its collapsible plastic crates to its fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers in a collapsed configuration which is depicted in FIG. 4 so that its suppliers consequently need to erect the crates themselves. In the collapsed configuration, the end wall panels overlie the bottom wall panel, and the side wall panels overlie the end wall panels. Also, one of the end wall panels slightly overlies the other end wall panel. The crate is erected by firstly pivoting the side wall panels relative to the bottom wall panel so that they extend outwardly from the bottom wall panel as depicted in FIG. 5. The end wall panels are then pivoted relative to the bottom wall panel so that they are upstanding with respect to the bottom wall panel. The side wall panels are then pivoted relative to the bottom wall panel so that they are upstanding with respect to the bottom wall panel, and so that the end wall panels are latched to the side wall panels.

Although collapsible plastic crates of the type depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3 can be erected by hand, it is usually not feasible for fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers who ship large amounts of fresh produce in those crates to erect them by hand due to the large number of crates which they need to erect. Consequently, such fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers usually employ one or more crate-erecting machines which are able to automatically erect the crates.

Robot Systems™ manufactures a crate-erecting machine which is specifically adapted to erect collapsed crates of the type depicted in FIG. 2 which are transferred to it by a conveyor from a remote dispensing system. In operation, collapsed crates are fed into the machine narrow end first, and are transferred one at a time to the erecting station where they are erected. Once a crate has been transferred to the erecting station, pneumatically operated side wall panel erecting assemblies which are located on either side of the crate are rotated by 90° onto the side wall panels of the collapsed crate such that the side wall panel erecting assemblies move from a vertical position to a horizontal position. The side wall panel erecting assemblies include clamps which clamp the ends of the side wall panels. The side wall panel erecting assemblies are then rotated by 90° back to the vertical position so that the clamped side wall panels are thereby pivoted by 90° to an upstanding position relative to the bottom wall panel of the crate.

While the upstanding side wall panels of the crate are held by the clamps of the side wall panel erecting assemblies, pneumatically operated end wall panel erecting assemblies are lowered so that they engage with the top of each end wall panel of the crate. The end wall panel erecting assemblies then raise the end wall panels to an upstanding position relative to the bottom wall panel, and latch the end wall panels to the side wall panels. The clamps of the side wall erecting assemblies then release the side wall panels, and the end wall panel erecting assemblies return to their home position. The erected crate is then ejected from the erecting station so that another collapsed crate can be transferred to the erecting station.

SWF™ manufactures a crate-erecting machine which is specifically adapted to erect crates of the type depicted in FIG. 3. The machine includes an input conveyor for transferring stacks of manually loaded collapsed crates to a lifting area of a crate dispenser where they are elevated above the input conveyor to a crate dispensing height by lift angles which are attached to vertically extending lift chains. The collapsed crates are loaded on to the input conveyor such that the narrow sides of the crates face the direction in which they are moved by the conveyor. A pneumatically operated lift assembly which includes a sprag clutch-type cam operation engages with the sides of the uppermost crate of the elevated stack and lifts that crate clear of the stack to a feed position.

As each crate is lifted off the elevated stack, the lift chains of the crate dispenser elevate the remaining crates in the stack to the crate dispensing height until all of the crates in the stack have been removed by the pneumatically operated lift assembly. Once this occurs, the lift chains lower the lift angles to receive another stack of crates from the conveyor.

When a crate is moved to the feed position, pneumatically operated crate end support angles pivot in and under the crate so that they support the crate, and the lift assembly releases the crate and returns to the elevated stack to remove the uppermost crate in the stack.

The side wall panels of the dispensed crate which is supported by the crate side support angles are opened by pneumatically operated overhead opening assemblies such that the side wall panels are pivoted by approximately 120° with respect to the bottom wall panel of the crate. In particular, the pneumatically operated overhead side wall panel opening assemblies are lowered over the sides of the crate so that they engage with the top of each side wall panel, and are then operated so that they pivot the side wall panels relative to the bottom wall panel. The dispensed crate is clamped in position by pneumatic clamps while the side wall panels are pivoted relative to the bottom wall panel. Once the side wall panels are opened, the clamps release the crate and the side wall panel opening assemblies return to their home position.

A pneumatic cylinder then moves the opened crate forward until the sides of the bottom wall panel of the crate engage with powered transfer belts of the machine which transfer the crate from the feed or dispensed position to an erecting position. While the crate is transferred from the feed position to the erecting position, the side wall panels of the crate are further pivoted relative to the bottom wall panels by ploughs so that the end wall panels of the crate are able to be opened without being hindered by the side wall panels. Pneumatically operated overhead assemblies are then lowered over the crate so that they engage with the top of each end wall panel. The overhead assemblies then open the end wall panels by pivoting the end wall panels relative to the bottom wall panel by approximately 90°. The overhead assemblies also pivot the side wall panels relative to the bottom wall panel so that the side wall panels are returned to the open position.

The crate with its opened side wall panels and upstanding end wall panels is then ejected vertically downwards through a fixed die which pivots the side wall panels relative to the bottom wall panel so that the side wall panels are upstanding with respect to the bottom wall panel, and are latched to the end wall panels. The erected crate falls through the die and onto an output conveyor which transports the crate clear of the machine.

Although the rate at which the Robot Systems™ and the SWF™ machines are able to erect crates is quite high, it would be beneficial to be able to erect crates at an even faster rate. Consequently, it would be desirable to have a crate-erecting machine that is able to erect crates at an even faster rate than the Robot Systems™ and the SWF™ machines.

Also, although the Robot Systems™ and the SWF™ machines are both able to erect crates which have end wall panels and side wall panels of various heights, the machines must be manually adjusted when the height of the end wall panels or the height of the side wall panels changes. Having to manually adjust the machines when the height of the end wall or side wall panels change can be time-consuming and expensive. Such machines are consequently not particularly suitable for use in situations such as at a crate-washing facility for example, where it is necessary to randomly erect crates which have end wall panels or side wall panels of various heights.

Moreover, it is not possible to erect crates of different types such as the types depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3 using either the Robot Systems™ machine, or the SWF™ machine. The Robot Systems™ machine is only able to erect crates of the type depicted in FIG. 1, and the SWF™ machine is only able to erect crates of the type depicted in FIG. 3.

Examples of other prior art crate-erecting machines are disclosed in European Patent Publication Nos. 1052087 A2 (Robot Systems) and 1081049 A2 (Frutmac). Similarly to the Robot Systems™ and the SWF™ machines mentioned above, the machines disclosed by the aforementioned published European patent documents operate such that crates which are erected by the machines travel through the machines with their narrowest side leading, and the machines are only able to erect crates at a maximum rate of fifteen crates per minute.

In addition, each time the height of the side or end wall panels of the crates erected by the machines disclosed in the aforementioned European patent documents change, manual changes need to be made to the settings of the machines so that they are able to properly erect the crates.

Various other known erecting machines are disclosed in Netherlands Patent Publication No. 1013830 C2 (Schoeller), Netherlands Patent Publication No. 1025167 C2 (Systemate), U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,544 A (Hull), U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,679 A (Wahle), U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,118 A (Calvert et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,658 A (Mitchard).

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