Packer apparatus, packing conveyor and method

Carton gripper apparatus for gripping groups of cartons for packing said groups into boxes, and comprising;

• a gripper body member;
• a first and a second pair of non-rotatable slide rods supported on said gripper body member;
• a first pair of clamp bars slideable along said first pair of said slide rods;
• a second pair of clamp bars slideable along said second pair of said slide rods, relative to said first pair of clamp bars;
• bearing openings in said clamp bars, and wherein said slide rods extend through respective said bearing openings thereby to permit said sliding of said clamp bars along respective said pairs of said slide rods;
• fastening means securing said first pair of clamp bars to said second pair of slide rods;
• fastening means securing said second pair of clamp bars to said first pair of slide rods;
• and,
• means for moving said first pair of slide rods in one direction while simultaneously moving said second pair of slide rods in the opposite direction to said first pair of slide rods, thereby sliding said first pair of clamp bars along said first pair of slide rods, and sliding said second pair of clamp bars along said second pair of slide rods, and thereby moving said first and second pairs of clamp bars towards one another into a gripping position and away from one another into a releasing position.