Top sealing and creasing apparatus and method for a gable top carton

A top sealer for a form, fill and seal packaging machine for forming, filling and sealing a series of extended top panel gable top cartons, the machine defining a processing path, the top sealer disposed after a filling station along the machine, each of the series of gable top cartons including a first vertical panel and an extended gable panel contiguous with the first vertical panel, each of the series of cartons further defining a second vertical panel opposingly oriented to the first vertical panel and a secondary gable panel opposingly oriented to the extended gable panel and contiguous with the second vertical panel, each of the series of cartons defining a first vertical panel/extended gable panel juncture and top fins extending from the extended and secondary gable panels, the top fins configured for sealing to one another to define a top seal portion of each of the series of cartons, the sealer comprising:

• first and second anvils disposed on opposing sides of the processing path, the anvils configured to move transverse to the processing path for engaging the top fins of each of the series of cartons and compressing the fins for forming the top seal portion of each of the series of cartons;
• a first wedge section mounted to the first anvil;
• and
• a second wedge section mounted to the second anvil,
• wherein the first wedge section includes at least one raised portion extending from a face thereof, the first wedge mounted to the anvil to contact the at least one raised portion of each of the series of cartons with the first vertical panel/extended gable panel juncture contemporaneous with the anvils engaging the top fins, the at least one raised portion contacting the first vertical panel/extended gable panel juncture to form a crease at the juncture of each of the series of cartons, the second wedge section being configured to contact the second gable panel of each of the series of cartons.