The Mead Corporation

Alton J Fishback

Rodney K Calvert

George R Vanhorne

Dale K Scott

George R Van Horne

A basket style carton is set up by a machine which imparts inward movement to one end wall so as to allow the adjacent locking tab to clear the associated end notch. A first pusher engages the bottom wall and allows the notch to receive the locking tab. Continued inward movement imparted to the one carton end wall causes the locking tab at the opposite end of the bottom wall to clear the associated notch. A second pusher then depresses the bottom wall and allows the associated locking tab to clear the associated notch.

Machine and method for erecting basket style cartons

A carton having upper and lower end flaps and which is movable along a path of movement is manipulated by a machine having upper and lower rotatable flap folders mountable in either a fixed primary or a movable secondary location. The secondary location being movable in an upstream fashion relative to the direction of carton flow. A driving element and a driving mechanism that moves the secondary folder and rotates it to retain a timed relation with the path of movement of the cartons.

Convertible flap folding mechanism

A carton having a collapsed bottom wall is erected by a machine which engages opposed side walls and draws these walls apart. Simultaneously the side walls are separated by movement in a transverse direction and the bottom wall panels are interlocked.

Machine for erecting cartons having collapsible bottoms

A carton loading machine is effective to load bottles packaged in basket style or in sleeve style cartons at high speed and with minimal attention by the operator due to the dual function of many of the machine parts.

Machine for loading open top style cartons at high speeds

A system of flight bars each flight bar having a leading component and a trailing component, a first pair of endless driving elements interconnected with each leading component and a second pair of spaced apart endless driving elements interconnected with each trailing component. Controlled relative movement is imparted to the first and second pair of endless driving elements so as to vary the distance between the trailing component of a flight bar and the leading component of an immediately succeeding flight bar thereby to render the system adaptable for use in conjunction with packages of different horizontal dimensions in the direction of movement of the flight bars.

Adjustable flight bars for packaging machine

A packaging machine having a working reach interconnected with a return reach over which flight bars are movable is provided with a ramp formed with a long radius for interconnecting the working reach with the return reach. This long radius ramp eliminates the tendency for flight bars to accelerate at an unacceptable velocity and can lead to damage to adjacent cartons. The long radius together with a sprocket of increased diameter avoids exposure to the risk of damage to and breakage of cartons. This increased radius also tends to provide a gap between the working reach and an outfeed conveyor which is longer than that normally employed with conventional structures. This gap is bridged by rotatable support wheels having cutaway radial areas which afford clearance for flight bars on their way from the working reach to the return reach.

Flight bar path having a large radius

A stack of collapsed sleeve type end loading cartons are disposed in a hopper and the lowermost carton is engaged and fed out of the hopper by a carton pick up device which rotates in one direction. An auxiliary device rotates in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation of the carton pick up device and engages a carton wall so as to move it out of collapsed condition thereby to initiate set up of the carton.

High speed erecting mechanism for sleeve type carton

Apparatus for arranging articles in groups includes a conveyor for moving a single row of articles in contacting relation with each other, a plurality of shuttle elements movable alongside the articles and at a velocity less than the velocity thereof and slidable in a direction transverse thereto, the shuttle elements being engageable respectively with a leading part of an article so as temporarily to control the velocity thereof, shuttle withdrawing cams engageable in sequence with the shuttles to impart transverse movement thereto in a direction away from the articles together with a stabilizing element engageable with the articles for preventing rotary movement thereof during shuttle withdrawal movement.

Apparatus for arranging articles in groups

Article rotating apparatus includes an endless element having a working reach movable alongside the path of movement of the articles and having a curvilinear reach forming a continuation of the downstream part of the working reach and extending in a direction away from the path of movement of the articles, and an article engaging lug mounted on the endless element and engageable with an article for imparting angular movement thereto while being moved along the curvilinear reach of the endless element.

Apparatus for imparting angular movement to articles while being moved

A machine for applying an article carrier (C) having apertures (19,23,24) therein to a plurality of bottles to cause the neck of each bottle to be enveloped by a carrier aperture includes conveyor means (4) for moving a group of bottles arranged in side by side relationship and in at least one row into a loading station, vertically reciprocable plunger means (55,59) disposed above the loading station, at least one applicator member (60) pivotally mounted on said plunger means (55,59), a carrier feeder arm (61) pivotally mounted on the plunger means and arranged to engage and withdraw a carrier from a stationary hopper (10) and to deposit the carrier in said applicator member (60) so that downward movement of said plunger means causes the carrier apertures to envelope the necks of bottles disposed at said loading station together with cam means (80,81) arranged to swing said applicator member about its pivotal mounting following application of a carrier to a group of bottles so as to cause said applicator member to disengage the carrier.

Machine for applying an article carrier to a plurality of bottles

A reciprocable feeder arm (10) includes a projecting portion (12) for engaging an edge of a collapsed carton (C) in a hopper (1) and with the aid of a suction cup (13) removes the collapsed carton (C) from the hopper (1) and into a position adjacent but spaced from fixed suction cup means (3) into engagement with which one side wall (A1) of the carton is driven by movable suction cup means (4) which engages the opposite side wall (A) of the carton so that subsequent movement of the movable suction cup means (4) away from the fixed suction cup means (3) moves the carton side walls apart and tends to manipulate the carton into set-up condition during which movement a pair of spaced guides (6) engage end wall panels (B,D,B1,D1) at each end of the carrier and aid further in setting the carrier up while an arcuate fixed guide (6a) disposed adjacent the path of movement of the carton engages its bottom wall (E) so as to hold a pair of end flaps (F,G) foldably joined to the ends of the bottom wall are moved into approximately coplanar relation with the bottom wall so that a pair of fixed adhesive applicators (7) may apply adhesive to the inner surfaces of the end flaps (F,G) following which movement a reciprocable pusher element (8) engages the set-up carton (C4) along its upper edges and moves the carton between a pair of spaced plates (9) which engage the carton end flaps and force such flaps (F,G) into firm flat face contacting engagement with the end panels (B,D,B1,D1) at each end of the carton.

Machine for manipulating a collapsed basket style carton into set-up

A packaging machine having spaced parallel flight bars movable in such manner as to engage and push groups of articles through the machine is provided with guide means for diverting the direction of movement of the articles in a direction transverse to the path of movement thereof and is also provided with cam controlled pusher blocks slidably mounted on the flight bars and arranged to engage the rearmost article in one row of articles so as to push that row of articles ahead relative to the other row of articles and by this means to maintain the group of articles in a substantially rectilinear arrangement thereby to prevent inadvertent dislodgment of partitioning inserts disposed within the article group such as might be caused by undue racking of the articles from a rectilinear arrangement to the configuration of a rhomboid.

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Austell, GA, United States of America

Alton J Fishback