Carton feeder device and method for feeding a carton to a conveyor track

A carton feeding device for feeding cartons having at least a front wall and a rear wall to a continuously moving conveyor track, comprising:

• a pick-up head with a plurality of vacuum cups and an erecting finger pivotally suspended at the pick-up head, where the pick-up head is moveable between:
• a pick-up position (P1) in which a holding plane of the pick-up head is positioned parallel to the folded carton blank that is to be picked up, and
• an insertion position (P2) in which the erecting finger is pivoted with respect to the holding plane of the pick-up head wherein movement of the pick-up head from the pick-up position (P1) to the insertion position (P2) causes the carton to be opened, and where the carton is held, while the pick-up head is in the insertion position (P2), with an angle α between the holding plane of the pick-up head and a bearing surface of the erecting finger, and where the pick-up head holds the carton by an upper wall, wherein the angle α, at the insertion position (P2) is a specific angle that is greater or lesser than 90 degrees by at least 10 degrees in the insertion position (P2),
• wherein the carton feeding device is to insert the carton, while the pick-up head is in the insertion position (P2) with the angle α at the specific angle that is greater than 100 degrees or lesser than 80 degrees, between two teeth of the conveyor track while the two teeth are oriented parallel to each other and where the distance between the teeth is equal to the width w of the upper wall of the carton such that the front wall and rear wall of the carton is vertical and abuts a front tooth of the parallel teeth during the insertion of the carton,
• wherein the pick-up head moves continuously along the conveyor track during the insertion of the carton.