FORM-2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2006
COMPLETE
Specification
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
CARTON ALIGNMENT CONVEYOR ARRANGEMENT
TECHNOFOUR ELECTRONICS PVT. LTD.
an Indian Company
of Khed Shivapur-Saswad Road, Opp Yogiraj Resort, Kasurdi,
Dist, Pune-412 205, Maharashtra, India.
THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE NATURE OF THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure relates to the field of conveyor arrangement.
DEFINITIONS
In this specification, the following terms have the following definitions as given alongside. These are additions to the usual definitions expressed in the art.
The expression "cartons" used hereinafter in this disclosure refers to but is not limited to folding cartons, aseptic carton and the like.
The expression "aligned" used hereinafter in this disclosure refers to but is not limited to desired configuration of the afore-defined cartons required for printing or stacking.
The expression "misaligned" used hereinafter in this disclosure refers to but is not limited to an angular orientation deviating from the desired configuration of the carton being aligned; the term "aligned" as defined above.
These definitions are in addition to those expressed in the art.
BACKGROUND
Cartons are used for packaging of products and safe delivery of packaged products to a desired destination for use by end users. The cartons after being packed with the products are required to be conveyed for secondary operations such as printing, stacking, handling and storage. The cartons are required to be printed with the necessary product information printed thereon such as expiry date, manufacturing date, batch number, serial number and the like before being delivered to the desired destination for end user. Further, cartons of smaller size

are required to be stacked in a pre-determined orientation for being packed in larger sized packages.
Conventional conveyor arrangement receives the cartons from a cartonator or a check-weigher system and conveys the cartons to a printing station for printing or a stacking station for stacking the cartons. However, the cartons conveyed on conventional conveyor arrangement are not aligned properly and hence results in improper printing or stacking. Thus, conventional conveyor arrangement is plagued with several drawbacks. Firstly, while conveying the carton to the printing head, there is a tendency of the carton to be misaligned thereby resulting in illegible and disoriented printing of product information on the carton. Misalignment results due to faulty placement of the carton on the conveyor or faulty arrangement of the lid and partially opened side flaps of the carton. Improper printing results in rejection of the cartons thereby causing a hefty loss. Secondly, conventional conveyor arrangement fails to orient the cartons appropriately for conveying the cartons in an aligned manner to the printing station/stacking station, thereby resulting in obscure printing/stacking disorder of the cartons.
Hence, there is felt a need for a conveyor arrangement for conveying cartons which will eliminate the drawbacks of conventional conveyor arrangement.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure aimed to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative are described herein below:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide conveyor arrangement for aligning cartons.

Another object of the present disclosure is to convey the cartons spaced apart from each other on a conveyor arrangement.
Still another object of the arrangement of the present disclosure is to allow cartons aligned and positioned in a predetermined manner to be conveyed for further processing.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a conveyor arrangement which is efficient in closing half opened side flaps of cartons.
An added object of the present disclosure is to provide a conveyor arrangement which conveys the cartons in a desired aligned configuration for efficient secondary operation.
Further an additional object of the present disclosure is reduction in handling problems by rejecting totally misaligned cartons.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the present disclosure there is provided a carton alignment conveyor arrangement for receiving, aligning and sorting a plurality of cartons from a receiving station to obtain aligned cartons and misaligned cartons, the arrangement being adapted to convey the aligned cartons to a discharge end for a secondary operation, the arrangement comprising:


a belt conveyor adapted to convey the aligned cartons and the misaligned cartons;




an inclined plate adapted to slide the plurality of cartons from the receiving station to the belt conveyor, the inclined plate adapted to align at least one carton in a desired aligned configuration on being slid from the inclined plate to the belt conveyor;
a gripping conveyor comprising a first belt and a second belt laterally spaced apart to supportingly engage the aligned cartons from the belt conveyor to be conveyed to the discharge end; and
a rejection opening defined between the first belt and the second belt for rejection of the misaligned cartons received from the belt conveyor into a reject carton receiving means.

Typically, the belt conveyor is an unending belt moving at a pre-determined first speed.
Typically, the gripping conveyor operates at a pre-determined second speed, the pre-determined second speed being substantially greater than the predetermined first speed.
Preferably, the plurality of cartons is conveyed on the inclined plate subtending a predetermined angle to operating plane of the belt conveyor.
Preferably, the aligned cartons are conveyed by the gripping conveyor along a plane substantially parallel to the operating plane of the belt conveyor.
Preferably, the belt conveyor is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the first belt and the second belt. Typically, the first belt is adapted to operate in a direction complementary to the second belt.
Typically, the misaligned cartons are guided through the rejection opening into a carton storage arrangement by a guiding means, the guiding means being adapted to have a shape selected from the group comprising truncated shape, funnel shape, conical shape and rectangle funnel shape.

Typically, the reject carton receiving means is a tray or an auxiliary reject carton conveyor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The carton alignment conveyor arrangement of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a side view of the carton alignment conveyor arrangement in accordance with the present disclosure for conveying aligned cartons and misaligned cartons;
Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of the carton alignment conveyor arrangement in accordance with the present disclosure for conveying aligned cartons and misaligned cartons; and
Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the carton alignment conveyor arrangement in accordance with the present disclosure for conveying and rejecting misaligned cartons.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Conventional conveyor arrangement enables conveying of cartons for secondary operation such as stacking, printing, handling and storage. However, the conventional conveyor arrangement is plagued with drawbacks of misaligned stacking and improper printing. This is because the cartons conveyed by conventional conveyor arrangement are not conveyed for secondary operation in a desired aligned manner, thus resulting in rejection of the misaligned cartons with obscure printing, damaged cartons due to improper stacking, handling and

storage of misaligned cartons. This in-turn increases the cost involved in carton packaging.
The present disclosure of the carton alignment conveyor arrangement stems from the observation that a large number of cartons are rejected due to conveyance of the misaligned cartons on conventional conveyor arrangement. This result in loss of time and increases the cost involved in production and packaging of cartons.
A preferred embodiment of the carton alignment conveyor arrangement of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The preferred embodiment does not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The following description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended

within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Referring to the accompanied drawings, the carton alignment conveyor arrangement, in accordance with the present disclosure is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 and is particularly shown in Figure 1 to Figure 3 of the drawing. The carton alignment conveyor arrangement (10) conveys a plurality of cartons (13a and 13b), in aligned configuration and misaligned configuration, from a carton receiving station (14) for secondary operations, such as, stacking, printing handling and storing. The carton receiving station (14) is typically a cartonator or a check-weigher system. The details of the preferred embodiment of the carton alignment conveyor arrangement of the present disclosure will hereinafter be described with reference to Figure 1 to Figure 3.
The carton alignment conveyor arrangement (10) comprises an inclined plate (12), a belt conveyor (16) and a gripping conveyor. The inclined plate (12) receives a plurality of cartons — aligned cartons (13b) and misaligned cartons (13a) —from the carton receiving station (14). The misaligned cartons (13a) are either partially misaligned or totally misaligned depending on the on the degree of misalignment. The degree of misalignment of the misaligned cartons (13a) is the angular deviation of the misaligned cartons (13a) with respect to the aligned cartons (13b). The misaligned cartons (13a), having the degree of misalignment within a predetermined desired angle, are considered to be partially misaligned

cartons. The misaligned cartons (13a), having a degree of misalignment more than the predetermined desired angle, are considered to be totally misaligned cartons.
The plurality of cartons (11) received from the carton receiving station (14) slides on the inclined plate and is conveyed to the belt conveyor (16) along a plane subtending a predetermined angle to an operating plane of the belt conveyor (16). In the process of being slid on to the belt conveyor from the inclined plate (12), the partially misaligned cartons are caused to be in aligned configuration depending. The degree of misalignment of the misaligned cartons (13a) is the angular deviation of the misaligned cartons (13a) with respect to the aligned cartons (13b). The partially misaligned cartons having the degree of misalignment within a predetermined desired angle is caused to be aligned to the desired aligned configuration on being slid from the inclined plate (12) to the belt conveyor (16) to form an aligned carton (13b). However, the totally misaligned cartons remains in misaligned configuration on being slid from the inclined plate (12) to the belt conveyor (16) and are conveyed by the belt conveyor (16) in the misaligned configuration.
The aligned cartons (13b) and the totally misaligned cartons are conveyed by the belt conveyor (16) towards the gripping conveyor. Typically, the belt conveyor (16) is an unending belt in the form of a continuous loop supported on two or more pulleys. The belt conveyor (16) conveys the aligned cartons (13b), the partially misaligned cartons and the totally misaligned cartons received from the inclined plate (12) at a pre-determined first speed.
The gripping conveyor comprises a first belt (17) and a second belt (18) each being supported on either ends by at least two pulleys such that the belt conveyor (16) is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the first belt (17)

and the second bejt (18). The gripping conveyor conveys the aligned cartons (13b) from the belt conveyor (16) to the discharge end. The first belt (17) and a second belt (18) operate in a direction complementary to each other and at a pre-determined second speed; the pre-determined second speed being substantially greater than the pre-determined first speed of the belt conveyor (16). The difference in speed between the belt conveyor (14) and the gripping conveyor helps in maintaining a predetermined space between each aligned cartons (13b) conveyed by the gripping conveyor to the discharge end for secondary operation. The first belt (17) and the second belt (18) of the gripping conveyor overlap at least a portion of the length of the belt conveyor (16). The first belt (17) and the second belt (18) of the gripping conveyor are laterally spaced apart to define a rejection opening (22) therebetween. The spaced apart first belt (17) and the second belt (18) supportingly engage the aligned cartons (13b) conveyed by the belt conveyor (14) along opposing gripping sides of the aligned cartons (13b); opposing gripping sides are the sides parallel to the first belt (17) and the second belt (18). The opposing gripping sides of the aligned cartons (13b) are substantially equal to the lateral space defined between the first belt (17) and the second belt (18). Hence, the aligned cartons (13b) are supportingly engaged by the gripping conveyor for conveying the cartons in precisely positioned and with accurately tucked carton flaps to a discharge end for secondary operation.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 particularly illustrates the rejection opening (22) defined between the first belt (17) and the second belt (18) of the gripping conveyor. The totally misaligned cartons are not supportingly engaged between the first belt (17) and the second belt (18) as the lateral space therebetween is substantially greater than the gripping sides of the totally misaligned cartons parallel to the first belt (17) and the second belt (18). Hence, the totally misaligned cartons on being conveyed by the belt conveyor (14) are allowed to

fall through the rejection opening (22) into a reject carton receiver (24), typically, a tray or an auxiliary reject carton conveyor. The totally misaligned cartons received on the reject carton receiver (24) are arranged to be re-conveyed from the receiving station (14) to the carton alignment conveyor arrangement so as to be conveyed further to the discharge end for secondary operations in an aligned configuration. Thus, the totally misaligned cartons which cannot be aligned by being slid from the inclined plate (12) to the belt conveyor (14) are prevented from proceeding towards the discharge end resulting in improper printing/mishandling.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The technical advancements offered by the present disclosure include the realization of:
• aligning and positioning cartons in a predetermined manner for secondary operations;
• conveying cartons spaced apart from each other on a conveyor arrangement;
• reduction in the number of rejected cartons by maintaining constant distance between carton flap and print head;
• a cost effective conveyor arrangement; and
• reduction in problems involved in handling and storage of cartons by rejecting totally misaligned cartons.
Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

The use of the expression "at least" or "at least one" suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.
Wherever a range of values is specified, a value up to 10% below and above the lowest and highest numerical value respectively, of the specified range, is included in the scope of the disclosure.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

We claim:
1. A carton alignment conveyor arrangement for receiving, aligning and sorting a plurality of cartons from a receiving station into aligned cartons, partially misaligned cartons and totally misaligned cartons, said arrangement being adapted to convey the aligned cartons to a discharge end for a secondary operation, said arrangement comprising:





a belt conveyor adapted to convey the aligned cartons, the partially misaligned cartons and the totally misaligned cartons;
an inclined plate adapted to slide the plurality of cartons from the receiving station to said belt conveyor, said inclined plate adapted to align the partially misaligned carton to a desired aligned configuration on being slid from said inclined plate to said belt conveyor;
a gripping conveyor comprising a first belt and a second belt laterally spaced apart to supportingly engage the aligned cartons from said belt conveyor to be conveyed to the discharge end in a spaced apart manner; and
a rejection opening defined between said first belt and said second belt for rejection of the totally misaligned cartons received from said belt conveyor into a reject carton receiver.

2. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said belt conveyor is an unending belt moving at a pre-determined first speed.
3. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gripping conveyor operates at a pre-determined second speed, said pre-determined second speed being substantially greater than said pre-determined first speed.

4. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of cartons are conveyed on said inclined plate subtending a predetermined angle to operating plane of said belt conveyor.
5. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aligned cartons are conveyed by said gripping conveyor along a plane substantially parallel to the operating plane of said belt conveyor.
6. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said belt conveyor is
substantially perpendicular to the plane of said first belt and said second
belt, said first belt being adapted to operate in a direction complementary to
said second belt.
7. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the totally misaligned cartons are guided through said rejection opening into a reject carton receiver.
8. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reject carton receiver is selected from the group consisting of a tray and an auxiliary reject carton conveyor.