Redington, Incorporated

Crompton & Knowles Corporation

Thomas E Close

Walter H Vogel

A cartoner for inserting a product into an expanded carton having at least one open end and side flaps and an end panel with tuck flap thereon, and thereafter closing the open end, the cartoner accommodating a wide variety of carton shapes and sizes; a product infeed conveyor for such a cartoner including a product support plate extending laterally from either side of the cartoner and including a conveyor chain carrying product pushers pivotally mounted thereon, the product support plate being positioned from a bottom carton supporting rail a distance to receive the product pushers therethrough so that the product pushers both feed the product to the cartons and insert the product therein.

Cartoner and product infeed conveyor therefor

The method of expanding and transferring a carton from a stack of collapsed cartons in a magazine to a bucket on a conveyor wherein the cartons comprise at one end thereof two side flaps and a front flap which includes a tuck flap. The method of expanding the carton comprises partially expanding the carton, closing the front flap while the carton is partially expanded thereby spreading the second flap outwardly, holding the second flap open while spreading the first and front flaps outwardly by applying pressure from the inside surfaces thereof and fully expanding the carton while holding the first, second and front flaps in their spread position.

Method of expanding a carton

Means for and the method of expanding and transferring a carton from a stack of collapsed cartons in a magazine to a bucket on a conveyor wherein the collapsed cartons are extracted singly from the magazine first by a suction means and transferred to a second suction means which deposits the carton into the conveyor bucket. The cartons comprise at one end thereof two side flaps and a front flap which includes a tuck flap. Stationary cams are utilized to partially expand a carton while it is being transferred and pushing the front flap inwardly while the carton is partially expanded which spreads one of the side flaps outwardly. This side flap is then held while the front flap is released and the other side flap and front flap are spread outwardly from the inside. Finally, all the flaps are maintained in a spread position while the carton is fully expanded.

Growing community of inventors

Joliet, IL, United States of America

Thomas E Close