Abstract: A packaging machine for loading of individual articles into a product cartons that includes a rotary blank feeder and a rotary board erector. The rotary blank feeder includes a plurality of feeder arms each having a vacuum head. The feeder arms are each rotatable about a common axis of rotation and the entire folding arm assembly is rotatable about an offset secondary axis of rotation. Each vacuum head of the rotary blank feeder moves into contact with the lowermost planar carton blank contained with an overhead hopper and transfers the carton blank to a board feed conveyor. From the board feed conveyor, each carton blank enters into a rotary board erector having a plurality of folding arms rotatable at variable speeds about a common axis of rotation. The folding arms of the rotary board erector partially fold each planar carton blank for loading with individual articles.

Abstract: Apparatus for transferring partly formed soft packs of cigarettes, the adhesive in whose folded bottom ends may not have fully set, comprises a pair of air cylinders 54,56 which are pivotally mounted for alternately swinging into successive open-sided pockets 20 of a drying drum 12. As a soft pack 16 on a pack-forming drum 10 is stripped off its mandrel 14 by a pusher 62, one of the two cylinders engages its bottom end and maintains slight compression of the end during transfer. Meanwhile the other cylinder is extended in readiness for the next pack to be transferred.