Packaging machine and method of forming a carton
AssigneeMeadWestvaco Packaging Systems, LLC
InventorsPhilippe Duperray, Joel Mennetrat, Pierre Genty
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for regulating the flow of articles from an infeed stream at an infeed end of a packaging machine which apparatus comprises a plurality of article feed lanes for supplying a row of articles converging at a predetermined position, each feed lane having a regulator to control article flow, one of said regulators providing a reference position by which the relative positions of the articles may be controlled such that as the lanes converge one row of articles is offset from the or each other rows of articles.
Claims16
An apparatus for sequentially manipulating out of a hopper and initiating set up of collapsed cartons having oppositely disposed side and end panels and a first base panel and a second base panel, said apparatus comprising a carton pick up device for sequentially engaging one of said opposed panels and for withdrawing from the hopper a collapsed carton oriented in a substantially vertical plane, a feeder for translating the carton from the substantially vertical plane to a substantially horizontal plane and transferring said carton from said hopper to an in-feed end of a packaging machine, a separator to misalign the first base panel from the carton to a substantially vertical plane to separate the base panels so that the second base panel is engaged by a conveyor and held in a substantially horizontal plane and the first base panel remains unengaged by a conveyor, a guide to manipulate or to guide the side and end panels from said substantially horizontal plane into a substantially vertical plane and said first base panel from said vertical plane to a substantially horizontal plane while said second base panel is held by said conveyor, and a carton erecting device to pull the opposing side and end panels away from the base panel held in the conveyor to erect the carton.
A packaging machine including an apparatus for sequentially manipulating out of a hopper and initiating set up of collapsed cartons having oppositely disposed side and end panels and a first base panel and a second base panel, said apparatus comprising a carton pick up device for sequentially engaging one of said opposed panels and for withdrawing from the hopper a collapsed carton oriented in a substantially vertical plane, a feeder for translating the carton from the substantially vertical plane to a substantially horizontal plane and transferring said carton from said hopper to an in-feed end of a packaging machine, a separator to misalign the first base panel from the carton to a substantially vertical plane to separate the base panels so that the second base panel is engaged by a conveyor and held in a substantially horizontal plane and the first base panel remains unengaged by a conveyor, a guide to manipulate or to guide the side and end panels from said substantially horizontal plane into a substantially vertical plane and said first base panel from said vertical plane to a substantially horizontal plane while said second base panel is held by said conveyor, and a carton erecting device to pull the opposing side and end panels away from the base panel held in the conveyor to erect the carton.
A method of continuously feeding and setting up a carton having oppositely disposed side and end panels and a pair of base panels from a flat collapsed to a position of use, which method comprises the steps of:
- (a) sequentially withdrawing a carton stored in a hopper in a substantially vertical position;
- (b) transferring the carton to a horizontal plane;
- (c) separating the base panels to cause one of the base panels to be engaged by a conveyor and the other panel to remain free for rotation;
- (d) manipulating the aide and end panels into a substantially vertical plane;
- (e) separating the opposing side and end panels to erect the carton as said engaged panel remains engaged by said conveyor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.