Packaging method and apparatus

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, a support arranged to support a box containing a stack of closures for said containers, a guide surface extending inclinedly downwards from said support for guiding inclinedly downwards said stack of closures exiting from a mouth of said box, and vibrating means arranged to vibrate said box, said support being arranged to support said box in such a condition that said mouth of said box is directed inclinedly downwards.

A packaging method, comprising providing a row of open-topped containers one behind another, thereafter dividing the row of open-topped containers into a plurality of rows of open-topped containers, filling the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows, and subsequently closing the open tops of the containers, wherein the open-topped containers are formed on container-forming apparatus before said dividing occurs and the filling of the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows occurs in all of said plurality of rows substantially simultaneously, and wherein said dividing comprises lowering the leading container in said row to a first position, shifting said leading container laterally to a second position, lowering the next container in said row to said first position, and subsequently advancing those two containers side-by-side.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, and said container-conveying means including means serving to lower the containers in said row one-by-one to a first position, laterally conveying means serving to convey the containers one-by-one laterally from said first position to a second position and to convey the containers one-by-one laterally from said second position to a third position, and means serving to lower the respective containers at the second and third positions to respective positions in said plurality of lanes.

A packaging method, comprising providing a row of open-topped containers one behind another, thereafter dividing the row of open-topped containers into a plurality of rows of open-topped containers, filling the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows, and subsequently closing the open tops of the containers, wherein the open-topped containers are formed on container-forming apparatus before said dividing occurs and the filling of the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows occurs in all of said plurality of rows substantially simultaneously, wherein said containers are advanced in said rows in a system of lanes substantially parallel to each other and to said rows, and selected containers are removed by displacing the selected containers transversely of said system, and wherein said selected containers are removed as aforesaid into reject lanes substantially parallel to the first-mentioned lanes and are then advanced along said reject lanes.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, said container-conveying means comprising longitudinal container-conveying means for advancing said containers in said rows, which are substantially parallel to each other and to said lanes, and transverse container-conveying means arranged to remove selected containers transversely of said lanes, there being among said lanes a plurality of reject lanes for advancing said selected containers removed.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, said container-conveying means comprising longitudinal container-conveying means for advancing said containers in said rows, which are substantially parallel to each other and to said lanes, and transverse container-conveying means arranged to remove selected containers transversely of said lanes, said lanes being provided upon an endless belt of said container-conveying means.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, said container-conveying means comprising longitudinal container-conveying means for advancing said containers in said rows, which are substantially parallel to each other and to said lanes, and transverse container-conveying means arranged to remove selected containers transversely of said lanes, said transverse container-conveying means comprising endless elongate flexible members spaced apart and arranged to grip said selected containers between them.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, an operating member for operating upon the containers, a rotary drive, and a linkage interconnecting said drive and said member and arranged to convert rotary motion of said drive into substantially rectilinear motion of an operating portion of said member, all sliding surfaces of said linkage being substantially exclusively pairs of co-extensive annular rotary sliding surfaces.

A packaging method, comprising providing a row of open-topped containers one behind another, thereafter dividing the row of open-topped containers into a plurality of rows of open-topped containers, filling the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows, and subsequently closing the open tops of the containers, wherein the open-topped containers are formed on container-forming apparatus before said dividing occurs and the filling of the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows occurs in all of said plurality of rows substantially simultaneously, wherein the containers are conveyed by resiliently gripping the containers between leading and trailing bars, and advancing the bars and thus the containers, and wherein said containers are conveyed by additionally locating said containers immediately at the front of other trailing bars lower than the first-mentioned trailing bars, and also advancing said other trailing bars.

A packaging method, comprising providing a row of open-topped containers one behind another, thereafter dividing the row of open-topped containers into a plurality of rows of open-topped containers, filling the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows, and subsequently closing the open tops of the containers, wherein the open-topped containers are formed on container-forming apparatus before said dividing occurs and the filling of the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows occurs in all of said plurality of rows substantially simultaneously, wherein the containers are conveyed by resiliently gripping the containers between leading and trailing bars, and advancing the bars and thus the containers, and wherein the level of base guides for said containers is adjusted in dependence upon the height dimension of said containers.

A packaging method, comprising providing a row of open-topped containers one behind another, thereafter dividing the row of open-topped containers into a plurality of rows of open-topped containers, filling the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows, and subsequently closing the open tops of the containers, wherein the open-topped containers are formed on container-forming apparatus before said dividing occurs and the filling of the open-topped containers in the plurality of rows occurs in all of said plurality of rows substantially simultaneously, wherein the containers are conveyed by resiliently gripping the containers between leading and trailing bars, and advancing the bars and thus the containers, and wherein the containers are resiliently gripped between the bars at locations spaced below the tops of the containers.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, wherein said container-conveying means comprises leading and trailing rigid bars for receiving said containers therebetween, advancing means arranged to advance the bars and thus the containers therebetween, biassing means arranged to cause the bars to bear against the containers, and other trailing bars at a lower level than, but advanced with, the first-mentioned trailing bars for pressing against trailing portions of said containers lower than those portions thereof gripped between said leading and trailing bars.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, and said container-conveying means comprising leading and trailing rigid bars for receiving said containers therebetween, advancing means arranged to advance the bars and thus the containers therebetween, and biassing means arranged to cause the bars to bear against the containers therebetween, and base guides for said containers and vertically adjustable relative to said leading and trailing bars.

Packaging apparatus, comprising container-conveying means including a lane which carries a row of open-topped containers and which divides into a plurality of lanes, filling means at said plurality of lanes arranged to fill a plurality of rows of said open-topped containers, top-closing means arranged to close the open tops of the containers in said plurality of lanes, forming means at said lane arranged to form the containers of said row of open-topped containers, said filling means comprising a plurality of fillers at the respective lanes of said plurality of lanes, and said container-conveying means comprising leading and trailing rigid bars for receiving said containers therebetween, advancing means arranged to advance the bars and thus the containers therebetween, and biassing means arranged to cause the bars to bear against the containers therebetween, said bars being of substantially circular cross-section.