Apparatus and method for forming a carton

An apparatus for forming a carton containing a group of articles, the apparatus comprising:

• an article positioning system for positioning articles into a plurality of groups of articles and moving the groups of articles along a processing path;
• a blank handling apparatus for conveying a plurality of carton blanks towards the plurality of groups of articles, the blank handling apparatus comprising a presser assembly for pressing a respective carton blank of the plurality of carton blanks onto the tops of articles in a respective group of articles of the plurality of groups of articles as the respective carton blank engages the tops of the articles;
• and
• a folding mechanism downstream of the blank handling apparatus for folding a portion of the ends of each respective carton blank downwardly around the respective group of articles, the folding mechanism comprising at least one leading lug for folding a leading end portion of the carton blank against the respective group of articles and at least one trailing lug for folding a trailing end portion of the carton blank against the respective group of articles, the at least one leading lug and at the at least one trailing lug are operatively connected to a lug drive mechanism so the at least one leading lug and the at least one trailing lug move sequentially with a respective group of articles, the lug drive mechanism comprising a pair of chains operatively connected to at least one sprocket, the at least one leading lug and at least one trailing lug are pivotally connected to the lug drive mechanism, the at least one leading lug is pivotally connected to one of the pair of chains and comprises an arm with a head for contact with the leading flap, the head is a terminal portion of the arm and the head is non-rotatable with respect to the arm such that the head rotates upon rotation of the arm, a first cam follower, and a second cam follower, the folding mechanism comprises a first cam track and a second cam track, the first cam follower is operatively connected to the first cam track and the second cam follower is operatively connected to the second cam track, and the first cam track and the second cam track are configured so that as the at least one leading lug is moved around the sprocket by the chain the movement of the first cam follower in the first cam track and the movement of the second cam follower in the second cam track sequentially pivots the arm of the at least one leading lug until the arm and the head of the leading lug are together oriented substantially parallel and tangential to the direction of circular movement of the chain rotating around the sprocket so that the arm and the head of the at least one leading lug together move in a downward direction perpendicular to the processing path and tangential to the direction of circular movement of the chain rotating around the sprocket when the at least one leading lug approaches contact with the leading end portion of the carton.