Abstract: A cartoner has a side seam gluer for forming flat folded cartons which are vertically oriented in a magazine for feeding into the cartoner. A conveyor having a horizontally-movable discharge chute feeds the flat folded cartons in a vertical orientation onto the feeder. The discharge chute moves horizontally to follow the increasing or decreasing supply of cartons and permits the accumulation of a supply of cartons sufficient to run the cartoner for about two minutes in the event of a jam in the side seam gluer.

Abstract: In a cartoning machine, a conveyor conveys flat folded cartons with their end flaps projecting laterally. A rotating disk having a horizontally-projecting pin engages the flaps in timed relation to their longitudinal movement to press a lower major flap downwardly. When in a downward attitude, the major flap is engaged by a plow or hold-down guide which holds the flap during erection of the carton and loading of the carton.

Abstract: Apparatus for feeding flat folded cartons from a stationary magazine to a continuously moving conveyor. The magazine has a choke at its discharge end formed from parallel guides which are spaced apart a distance less than the distance between the two folded edges of the cartons. A rotary carrier is located adjacent the magazine and the conveyor. A plurality of planetary members with attached suction cups are rotatably mounted on the carrier. A fixed cam cooperates with cam followers mounted on the planetary members to cause the planetary members to rotate on their own axes as the carrier rotates to pick up cartons from the magazine, open them and deposit them gently between transport lugs on the conveyor.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming a flip top carton wherein the top of the carton has a front flap and side flaps, each having a lower section folded upon the body of the carton and a middle section folded on the lower section. The apparatus has a former associated with a conventional cartoning machine which projects into an erected tubular carton spreading the front and side flaps while inwardly pressing the top portion of the carton to fold the lower section on the top portion of the carton and the middle section on the lower section to form a collar. The apparatus further includes a glue station for applying glue to the internal surfaces of the overlying middle and lower sections. The apparatus further includes compression sections for pressing the lower and middle sections to which glue has been applied together to complete the formation of the collar.

Abstract: In carton feeding apparatus, a rotary member having a blade which passes behind a leading carton in a group of vertically-oriented cartons to separate the leading carton from the adjacent carton. A lockout member is pivotally mounted on the rotary member and is adapted to be moved in a generally axial direction toward the incoming cartons to block the cartons from engagement by the blade.

Abstract: A perimeter guard for a machine wherein a plurality of vertical posts are spaced about a machine. Each post is H-shaped and has lateral flanges projecting from it to create vertical channels on each side of the post. A transparent window is slidably mounted in one set of perimeter channels to form an upper guard and a lower pannel is slidably mounted in the other set of opposed channels.A counterbalance is provided for the windows and a detent is provided for locking the lower panels in their lowermost position or in a raised position.

Abstract: An auxiliary flap sealer for a cartoning machine. A conveyor carries cartons past a gluer and then to a normally stationary plow to press together flaps to which glue has been applied. When the conveyor stops, with glue applied to open flaps, the stationary plow and glue nozzles are shifted upstream to complete the glue application if necessary and to close the flaps.

Abstract: A high speed feeder for cartons being fed into a cartoner includes both mechanical and fluid flow environments for precisely delivering cartons. A preferably inclined conveyor receives cartons stacked on their edges and in a generally vertical orientation. A rotating metering wheel at the downstream end of the conveyor engages the top edges of the cartons and separates them one at a time from the incoming stack. A blower is provided to direct air onto the cartons adjacent the metering wheel to (a) blow the cartons against the metering wheel, (b) blow air between the first and second cartons of the stack as the metering wheel separates the first from the second, and (c) blow the cartons down to a horizontal attitude. Horizontal feed chains having feed lugs receive the horizontal cartons and advance them one at a time into the cartoner. Vacuum nozzles are provided to aid in controlling carton placement on the feed chains and lugs throughout a broad range of feed speeds. Methods are included.

Abstract: Pouching apparatus for increasing the volume of material packed into a pouch. The apparatus includes a filler wheel assembly, means for rotating said assembly, a vacuum transfer wheel mounted below said filler wheel assembly and rotatable therewith, a plurality of vertical lands circumferentially spaced around said transfer wheel to receive a web of pouches, means for applying vacuum to said lands, a plurality of tuck fingers movably mounted on the transfer wheel between said lands, a stationary, circumferential cam mounted adjacent said transfer wheel to raise said tuck fingers to form an upward tuck in the bottom of each pouch of said web thereby increasing its capacity. The apparatus also includes clips to hold the web on the lands of the transfer wheel. The apparatus also includes a feed roll which feeds said web onto said transfer wheel at a preselected speed somewhat greater than the speed of said transfer wheel to force pouches into the space between said lands.

Abstract: In apparatus for pouch forming, filling and sealing, a printed web, having registration marks at locations where transverse seals are to be formed in order to form a pouch, is fed through drive rolls; over a plow which forms a longitudinal fold in the web; around a sealing wheel having lands which the web contacts to form transverse pouch-forming seals; around a filler where product is poured into the pouches; past a top sealer and a cutoff where the pouch forming is completed and the individual pouches are severed by knives. A photoelectric scanner scans the registration marks and produces a pulse when each passes the scanner. An electric eye cooperating with a disk driven by the machine determines the position of the sealer lands. A tachometer driven by the machine produces pulses proportional to the speed of the machine. A stepping motor continuously drives the drive rolls.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for transferring tubes such as metallic tooth paste tubes from a tube filler to product buckets of a cartoner. Tubes are delivered by a conveyor to a tube filler onto the circumferential surface of a rotary drum which has at least one pocket in its surface. The pocket picks up the tube deposited on the surface of the drum and drops the tube into continuously-moving product buckets below the drum. Three gates are spaced along the conveyor to maintain a proper spacing of the tubes so that the tubes do not bang into one another and so that only one at a time is deposited onto the circumferential surface of the drum.

Abstract: Pouching apparatus for increasing the volume of material packed into a pouch. The apparatus includes a filler wheel assembly, means for rotating said assembly, a vacuum transfer wheel mounted below said filler wheel assembly and rotatable therewith, a plurality of vertical lands circumferentially spaced around said transfer wheel to receive a web of pouches, means for applying vacuum to said lands, a plurality of tuck fingers movably mounted on the transfer wheel between said lands, a stationary, circumferential cam mounted adjacent said transfer wheel to raise said tuck fingers to form an upward tuck in the bottom of each pouch of said web thereby increasing its capacity. The apparatus also includes clips to hold the web on the lands of the transfer wheel. The apparatus also includes a feed roll which feeds said web onto said transfer wheel at a preselected speed somewhat greater than the speed of said transfer wheel to force pouches into the space between said lands.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for erecting cartons wherein a flat folded carton blank is conveyed to the apparatus where it is momentarily stopped. Suction cups pull the underside of the blank downwardly against a breaker bar to bow the underside downwardly pulling the leading and trailing ends of the blank toward each other and thus bowing the upper carton side upwardly. With the carton thus partially opened, an overhead opening element rotates into engagement with a trailing side panel of the carton to swing it through an arc of about 90.degree. until it is substantially vertical. An overbreak element thereafter engages the now vertical trailing side panel and swings it through another 90.degree. to overbreak the carton. In this condition, the carton is conveyed out of the erecting apparatus and into transport lugs of the transport conveyor of a cartoner.

Abstract: Apparatus for transferring elongated articles into the product buckets of a cartoner. The articles are conveyed single file and are diverted by a primary diverter into two diverter conveyors. The articles are thereafter pushed from the diverter conveyors into left and right accumulator stations onto conveyors moving transversely in opposite directions. The accumulator conveyors hold the articles side-by-side at the downstream end of the accumulator conveyors. A pusher bar pushes a group of articles from their ends longitudinally off the accumulator conveyor onto a dead plate which overlies the cartoner product bucket conveyor. A sweep bar sweeps the articles off the dead plate into the product buckets. The dead plate has a finger which projects alongside of the dead plate over which the ends of the articles ride so as to cause the articles to drop into the product buckets one end at a time, thereby providing better control over the position and orientation of the articles in the product buckets.

Abstract: Flat open carton blanks are fed by a conveyor past two rotating plows located on each side of the conveyor. A first plow is located upstream of the second plow, and a glue applicator is located in a position to apply glue to one edge of the blank. A stationary plow or wedge is located ahead of each rotating plow. As the blank is advanced, a first panel is folded upon the blank by the first rotating plow. Glue is applied to the edge of the first panel. As the blank is conveyed past the second rotating plow, a panel on the opposite side of the blank is folded upon the blank with its edge in contact with the glue applied to the edge of the first panel. The thus folded blank is passed through the nip of press rolls to press the two glued edges together. A diverter is provided to reject double folded blanks.Upstream of the first plow are at least two sets of creasing rolls which back-break at least two preformed score lines in the blank to facilitate opening of the glued blank on a cartoner.

Abstract: A carton for twelve bottles, the carton having a bottom panel, end panels and a top panel. The top panel is divided into a center section, two intermediate sections and two side sections connected together on hinge lines. Openings are formed on the hinge lines to receive the necks of bottles. A first row of bottles is inserted into each side of the carton with the necks lodged on the ends. The intermediate sections are swung to horizontal position to capture the first rows of bottles in the openings at the hinge lines. A second row of bottles is inserted into each side of the carton, and the side sections are swung downwardly to capture the second rows of bottles in the openings. The side sections are then sealed to side flaps.

Abstract: A magazine and feeder for carton blanks. The magazine has two stages and a pair of independently-driven rollers located between the two stages, which rollers support the major portion of the stack of carton blanks. Below the lower stage is an ejector mechanism which has a suction cup for pulling blanks downwardly one at a time and cooperating pressure and feed rolls for driving each blank individually out of the magazine. Assist rolls are also provided to assure proper alignment of the blanks as they are thrust out of the magazine. The lower stage includes a detector finger which is operatively connected to the independent drives for the rollers to cause the rollers to rotate from time-to-time to drop carton blanks into the lower stage, thereby replenishing the supply as blanks are fed from the ejector mechanism into the magazine.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for erecting cartons wherein a flat folded carton blank is conveyed to the apparatus where it is momentarily stopped. Suction cups pull the under side of the blank downwardly against a breaker bar to bow the under side downwardly pulling the leading and trailing ends of the blank toward each other and thus bowing the upper carton side upwardly. With the carton thus partially opened, an overhead opening element rotates into engagement with a trailing side panel of the carton to swing it through an arc of about 90.degree. until it is substantially vertical. An overbreak element thereafter engages the now vertical trailing side panel and swings it through another 90.degree. to overbreak the carton. In this condition, the carton is conveyed out of the erecting apparatus and into transport lugs of the transport conveyor of a cartoner.

Abstract: Flat open carton blanks are fed by a conveyor past two rotating plows located on each side of the conveyor. A first plow is located upstream of the second plow, and a glue applicator is located between the two plows. A stationary plow or wedge is located ahead of each rotating plow. As the blank is advanced, a first panel is folded upon the blank by the first rotating plow. Glue is applied to the edge of the first panel. As the blank is conveyed past the second rotating plow, a panel on the opposite side of the blank is folded upon the blank with its edge in contact with the glue applied to the edge of the first panel. The thus folded blank is passed through the nip of press rolls to press the two glued edges together. A diverter is provided to reject double folded blanks.

Abstract: In a cartoning machine, a series of L-shaped product buckets mounted on a chain conveyor and a series of inverted L-shaped tamper-confiner elements mounted on a conveyor chain overlying the product buckets, the tamper confiner elements being cammed to form, with the product buckets, a gradually closing, generally rectangular compartment whose inside dimensions are substantially the same as the carton into which the product is to be inserted. One leg of the tamper-confiner element is articulated to engage the bottom wall of the product bucket before the tamper-confiner is in its final position, thereby preventing pinching of the product.