Abstract: Methods and apparatus (10) for erecting cartons include a device (32) removing the upper carton (12) from a first stack of horizontally arranged cartons and pivots it to a vertical condition. The first stack is elevated by a lifting device (28) as the cartons are removed. A second stack is moved beneath the first stack when it reaches a hand-off elevation. A first connecting device (200) moves the removed carton from the vertical condition to in front of a planar plate (202) and a second connecting device (220). Suction cups (76) in a linear arrangement connect to the carton and are pivotally mounted to a pivotal transform arm (63) and move parallel to the planar plate (202). Tuckers (226, 228, 230) close the closure flaps of the carton, and a piece of tape is applied by a tape dispenser (236) thereover.

Abstract: Holes are removed from nested product patterns by conveying products on a conveyance mechanism (12) through an infeed section (14) in nested pattern streams (a1, a2, b1, b2), into a narrowing section (24) of a width less than one and one half the product diameter. After the narrowing section (24), the product streams (a11, a21, b11, b21) enter into an expansion section (44) where products move into a side-by-side product stream (a12, a22, b12, b22). Thereafter, nested product streams (a13, a23, b13, b23) are formed, which can be combined to form nested product streams (A, B) which can be further processed as desired.