Process and apparatus for assembling and liquor-charging of packages of paper and the like

An apparatus for successive and piecewise attachment of flanged-spouts onto a number of paper-made semipackages, each in the form of a square-cylindrical hollow member coated with heat-sealable agent on outer and inner wall surfaces thereof, comprising:

• a turret comprising a plurality of semipackage holders arranged equidistantly around a central axis of said turret at a constant distance therefrom for holding each of said semipackages lengthwise in parallel to said central axis;
• drive means for rotating said turret intermittently so as to position each of said holders at three different provisionally halted positions, the first one thereof being a semipackage receiving and discharging position, the second one thereof being a spoutintroducing position and the third one thereof being a spout-sealing position;
• semipackage introducing and discharge means for discharge of a semipackage from the semipackage holder halted provisionally at said semipackage receiving and discharging position and for supplying a new semipackage;
• spout-introducing means arranged at a position on an extension line from the semipackage provisionally held on the holder halted at said spout-introducing position;
• semipackage-advancing means for shifing said semipackage held on said holder and as a whole in unison to a position where a spout is introduced by means of said spout-introducing means;
• semipackage receding means for returning said semipackage to its initial position;
• spout-sealing means arranged in proximity of an extension line of the semipackage held on a holder provisionally halted at said spout-sealing position;
• further semipackage advancing means for shifting said semipackage held on said semipackage holder and as a whole in unison to a position where a spout is sealingly attached to said semipackage under the action of said spout-sealing means;
• and
• further semipackage receding means for returning said spout-attached semipackage to its original position.

An apparatus for assembling and liquor-charging of paper packages, comprising:

• feeder means for feeding individually a series of paper packages held horizontally, each of said packages having closable open top and bottom end portions, said top end portion having a small lateral opening;
• holding means for holding each of said packages individually horizontally;
• sucker means shiftable relative to said package on said holding means and partially projectable into the top end portion of said package for introducing a cylindrical main portion of a spout held on a tip end of said sucker means into said small lateral opening;
• attaching means for fusingly attaching said spout onto said top end portion of said package from inside of said package;
• a mandrel unit arranged downstream of said holding means and having a plurality of radially extending mandrel arms rotated intermittently by said mandrel unit;
• capping means for causing the package to be capped on one arm of said mandrel unit such that said bottom end portion of said package is directed radially outward;
• assembly means for assembling said bottom end portion of said package while the package is mounted on said mandrel unit and subjected to the intermittent rotary motion thereof;
• conveyor means for conveying the bottom-assembled package;
• holding means for holding said package on said conveyor means such that its bottom end portion is directed downward;
• liquor-charging means for charging a liquor into said package through the top end portion thereof while the package is being conveyed on said conveyor means;
• and
• means for assembling the top end portion of said package while the package is being conveyed on said conveyor means.