Abstract: Apparatus for draping successive cigarette packs into blanks of light-transmitting material has a turret with radially extending open-ended pockets and is indexible to move successive pockets to a predetermined position of register with a fixed mouthpiece. A web of wrapping material is transported downwardly by a conveyor having independently driven upper and lower units. A severing device cuts across the leader of the web between the two conveying units to form a series of discrete blanks which are pushed by the respective packs through the mouthpiece and into the registering pockets of the turret. The lower conveying unit delivers successive blanks in front of the mouthpiece and can be accelerated to move blanks out of the way in the absence of packs as well as to evacuate blanks prior to stoppage of the apparatus.

Abstract: Packets of cigarettes are delivered from a packing machine to a cartoner in the form of arrays each of which contains a predetermined number of packets. The packing machine discharges discrete packets which are advanced to a gathering station where the packets are assembled into arrays in successive compartments of a stepwise operated first endless conveyor. The first conveyor delivers freshly accumulated arrays into the pockets of a stepwise operated second endless conveyor which delivers a series of arrays to a second station adjacent the cartoner. The second conveyor is set in motion during a first stage of each cycle of the cartoner, and a pusher transfers successive arrays from the respective pockets of the second conveyor during second stages of certain cycles of the cartoner. The frequency of cycles of the cartoner at least equals but normally exceeds of the frequency at which arrays of packets are assembled in the compartments of the first conveyor.