Carton blank folding apparatus

Apparatus for folding carton blanks having a bottom panel, side walls, side end flaps and bottom end flaps, comprising:

• an open-bottomed hopper for holding a stack of substantially flat carton blanks above a forming section,
• supporting means in the forming section spaced below the hopper, the space between the hopper and the supporting means constituting a passageway through which blanks can be moved,
• a carrier arm mounted to one side of the passageway having an inner end extending to the passageway,
• a vacuum arm having vacuum cup means thereon,
• hinge means connecting an end of the vacuum arm to said inner end of the carrier arm,
• power means connected to the carrier arm to oscillate the inner end thereof vertically through down and up strokes between the bottom of the hopper and said supporting means,
• control means connected to the vacuum arm to maintain said vacuum arm in a substantially horizontal attitude extending transversely of the passageway while the carrier arm is moving through a down stroke,
• said vacuum arm being positioned with the vacuum cup means thereof in engagement with the lowermost blank in the hopper when the carrier arm is at the end of an up stroke and moving the blank gripped by the vacuum cup means down through the passageway and onto the supporting means during a down stroke, and
• operating means connected to the vacuum arm operable to swing said vacuum arm into a substantially vertical attitude at the end of a down stroke of the carrier arm, maintain the vacuum arm in said vertical attitude while the carrier arm is moving through an up stroke and swing the vacuum arm back to the horizontal attitude at the end of the up stroke.

Apparatus for folding carton blanks having top and bottom panels, side walls, side end flaps and top and bottom end flaps, comprising:

• supporting means in a forming section,
• a hopper at the forming section above the supporting means for holding a stack of substantially flat carton blanks,
• vacuum means for engaging while in an operative attitude the lowermost blank of the stack in the hopper and moving said engaged blank downwardly through a passageway between the hopper and the supporting means into a loading position on to the supporting means,
• forming means beside the passageway for engaging side portions of the blank being moved downwardly through the passageway to incline said side portions into a partially formed carton in the configuration of an outwardly expanding U while leaving an end of the carton open,
• a carrier for the vacuum means for moving said vacuum means between the hopper and the supporting means,
• control means for the vacuum means for moving said vacuum means after a blank has been deposited in the loading position on the supporting means to an inoperative position to a first side of the passageway clear of the deposited blank and moving said vacuum means past the deposited blank and back to the operative position after the vacuum means is moved above said deposited blank,
• means defining a path for moving a load of articles horizontally through a second side of the passageway and through said open carton end onto the bottom panel of the deposited blank within the U formation thereof,
• first stop means at a third side of the passageway opposite the second side thereof to oppose each load of articles and to stop said each load on the bottom panel of the deposited blank,
• second stop means at the second side of the passageway to prevent movement of each article load off said bottom panel back along said path,
• conveyor means for moving each blank with its article load out of said passageway through a fourth side thereof, and
• folding means for folding end flaps of the loaded blank over the article load.

Apparatus for folding carton blanks cut and creased for cartons having top and bottom panels, side walls connected to opposite edges of the bottom panel, a securing flap connected to a free edge of one of the side walls, side end flaps connected to ends of the side walls and top and bottom end flaps connected respectively to the top panel and the bottom panel, said top panel being connected to a free edge of the other one of the side walls, comprising

• a forming section and a folding section arranged in succession,
• supporting means extending through said sections, and
• a conveyor extending through the forming and folding section near said supporting means,
• said forming section comprising
• an open-bottomed hopper above the supporting means for holding a stack of substantially flat carton blanks, the space between said hopper and the supporting means constituting a passageway through which blanks can be moved from the hopper down onto the supporting means,
• a carrier arm mounted to one side of the passageway having an inner end extending to the passageway,
• a vacuum arm having vacuum cup means thereon,
• hinge means connecting an end of the vacuum arm to said inner end of the carrier arm,
• power means connected to the carrier arm to oscillate the inner end thereof vertically through down and up strokes between the bottom of the hopper and said supporting means,
• control means connected to the vacuum arm to maintain said vacuum arm in a substantially horizontal attitude extending transversely of the passageway while the carrier arm is moving through a down stroke,
• said vacuum arm being positioned with the vacuum cup means thereof in engagement with the lowermost blank in the hopper when the carrier arm is at the end of an up stroke, and moving the blank gripped by the vacuum cup means down through the passageway and onto the supporting means during a down stroke, and
• operating means connected to the vacuum arm operable to swing said vacuum arm into a substantially vertical attitude at the end of a down stroke, maintain the vacuum arm in said vertical attitude while the carrier arm is moving through an up stroke, and swing the vacuum arm back to the horizontal attitude at the end of the up stroke,
• guide means for engaging opposite side walls of the blank as said blank is drawn downwardly and for inclining the side walls and the respective securing flap and top panel connected thereto upwardly and outwardly into an upwardly outwardly expanding U while concurrently leaving at least one end of the carton open,
• means defining a path for moving a load of containers through said open end out the bottom panel of the blank within said outwardly expanding U,
• folding means in the forming section for swinging said side end flaps inwardly, folding the securing flap inwardly, and folding the top panel over the container load and the infolded securing panel to form a carton around said load.

Apparatus for folding carton blanks having bottom panels, side walls, side end flaps and bottom end flaps, comprising:

• a forming section and a folding section arranged in succession,
• supporting means extending through said sections,
• an open-bottomed hopper above the supporting means in the forming section for supporting a stack of substantially flat carton blanks,
• vacuum means operable to engage the lowermost blank in the hopper and draw said blank downwardly through a passageway on to the supporting means,
• folding means beside the passageway for engaging side portions of the blank being moved downwardly through the passageway to incline said side portions into a partially formed carton in the configuration of an outwardly expanding U while leaving an end of the carton open,
• means defining a path for moving a load of articles horizontally through said open carton end on to the bottom panel of the deposited blank within the U formation thereof, and
• a conveyor extending through the forming and folding sections near said supporting means,
• said conveyor comprising
• a main finger projecting from the conveyor and positioned to engage a loaded carton on the supporting means in the forming section,
• a front finger on the conveyor ahead of the main finger and projecting from the conveyor,
• means for tipping the front finger away from the main finger when said fingers move into the forming section to receive a partially formed carton therebetween,
• means for tipping the front finger back towards the main finger to cause said fingers to grip the carton therebetween.