System for boxing forms

Abstract

A system for boxing printed forms uses half-slotted (hsc) containers and apparatus for assembling the containers, filling them with forms, compressing the forms, applying a lid, and strapping the lid on the container. Two parallel conveyor systems are used in the apparatus. A forms infeed accumulator conveyor infeeds stacks of forms to a form-dropping mechanism aligned above a parallel box-receiving conveyor. A folded box infeed tray, a box opening mechanism, and bottom flap folding members assemble boxes one at a time. A box pusher transfers the formed box onto the receiving conveyor and lateral guides and sensor controls precisely position the box beneath the form-dropping mechanism. The dropping mechanism has two rows of live roller-fingers abutting end to end and are movable laterally apart to drop the forms into a box below. The roller fingers are driven faster than the accumulator conveyor and cooperate with a gate to the dropping mechanism to separate and detain successive stacks while each stack is being dropped. A container and forms guide arrangement is suspended from the infeed conveyor and vertically adjustable as a unit for different height boxes. The box-receiving conveyor is lowered upon discharge to allow the boxed forms to pass beneath the interfacing guide frame. Automatic sensor and actuator controls orchestrate box erection and infeed, forms infeed and dropping, raising and lowering the receiving and discharge conveyor, and interlock operation of the various mechanisms so that forms are only dropped into an empty box. The boxes are sized to close tolerances about the forms to air-cushion the dropping stack.