Machine for erecting, filling and closing flat-foldable cartons

A machine for erecting, filling and closing rectangular cartons, comprises a magazine for storing a plurality of flat folded cartons in a stack which has a bottom discharge opening for individual removal of each carton. A support bar located below the discharge opening defines a first station to which each carton in succession is moved past deflection means which effect a preliminary erection of the carton by deflecting side walls upwardly from the bottom. The shifting member is movable backwardly and forwardly over the support bar and has means for maintaining the carton in an upright erected condition while moving it and while it is being filled. A product stuffer includes a product magazine for storing a stack of individual products to be filled into the container which is located adjacent the first station and which includes a movable product support member carrying the lower portion of the stack which is movable away from the remaining portion of the stack to transport the lower portion away and to support the remaining portion. The product stuffer also includes a sliding member which is movable to push the products which have been removed from the stack into the individual carton. Pusher means are also provided for engaging the filled carton and for moving it out of the first station to a second station spaced from the first station at which the carton is engaged by closing devices for closing the flaps.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates in general to the construction of devices for 
packaging products into individual containers or cartons and, in 
particular, to a new and useful device which includes means for erecting 
flat folded cartons and holding them in an upright condition while they 
are filled with a product and for thereafter closing the flaps of the 
carton after the carton has been filled. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
The present invention relates particularly to a machine for packaging 
products automatically in folding boxes, in which the boxes are taken in 
flat state from a pile magazine and individually held, at several sides, 
in a fixed position in the machine and means are provided for varying the 
carton size capacity of the machine within relatively large limits. 
Packaging machines comprising a plurality of working stations, for example 
four, are well known. In such machines, the righted folding boxes are 
conveyed by means of bucket or tappet chains, of oscillating bars or of a 
turntable. In all cases, a plurality of pockets is needed for receiving 
the folding boxes. Machines of such design are expensive and require a 
large operating space. 
Cartoning machines are also known in which, in one station, the folding box 
is righted, the product is pushed in, and then the filled folding box is 
shifted, by means of cyclically moving pushers, through a plurality of 
stations which are equipped with closure guides adapted to the respective 
size, whereby the two ends of each folding box are closed. 
Cartoning machines are also known in which the filled folding boxes are 
pushed, by means of cyclic pusher movements, through a plurality of 
stations. The front ends of the folding boxes are closed partly by 
definite sequences of mechanical motions and partly by the action of sized 
closure guides. As a rule, machines of this kind require a relatively long 
conveyance path. In consequence, it cannot be avoided that in any such 
operation, the folding boxes which are not closed push into each other. 
Because of the ramming pressure thus produced, deformations of the folding 
boxes are unavoidable if they are not filled with products which fill the 
box substantially. In any case, products contained in receptacles having a 
rotationally symmetrical cross-section, such as bottles or tubes, as well 
as collapsible packs, cannot be cartoned in machines of this kind. 
Aside from these easily understandable limits in application, a use of 
cartoning machines of the just mentioned kind has another disadvantage in 
that, if only closure guides or closure guides in combination with a 
respective sequence of motions are provided, a relatively large number of 
component parts must be replaced while adjusting the machine to product 
and carton size changes. 
Finally, there are known cartoning machines comprising a stationary pocket 
for receiving the product to be packaged, in which the product is fed into 
the respective folding box by the movement of a reciprocating pusher. 
Because of this reciprocating motion of the pusher, only a relatively 
short period of time is available for each refilling of the pocket so 
that, as a rule, in machines of this kind, an additional motion of the 
pusher is necessary in order to supply the pocket from a supply pile or 
the like. This additional pusher motion considerably increases the 
expenses of the construction. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a space-saving and low priced 
cartoning machine which is simple in design and reliable in operation, and 
which makes it possible, with an intentional omission of conveyor chains, 
oscillating bars or turntables for the folding boxes, to effect a 
substantially faultless and trouble-proof conveyance of flat folding boxes 
for packaging products. The invention provides a fixing of the folding 
boxes at working stations individually while holding them at several sides 
while treating them carefully, and permits closing of unequally sized 
folding boxes within relatively large size limits without requiring that 
the operating parts be interchanged. Finally, the invention provides 
movable holders which operatively define a pocket for the products to be 
packaged offering a relatively long period of time for manual refilling or 
capable of being supplied automatically from a supply magazine without any 
additional sequence of motion. 
In accordance with the invention, the removal of flat folded cartons from a 
magazine, bringing them into an upright position, and filling and closing 
the boxes is effected in only two working stations which are located one 
after the other in the working direction and of which a first station 
comprises mechanical members by means of which a flat folded box can be 
removed from a pile magazine, righted and held in upright position at four 
sides in the form of a pocket for the products to be packaged, and a 
second station comprises mechanical members by means of which the righted 
and filled box is held at four sides and closed. 
According to a development of the invention, the mechanical members 
necessary for righting the folding boxes substantially comprise a guide 
bar having side and bottom portions for supporting the one side and bottom 
of the folding box located below a flat folded carton stack magazine. A 
shifting member adapted to perform a rectilinear motion is mounted above 
the guide bar and is displaceable, approximately at the height of the 
folding box, into a position above the guide bar to push the carton into 
an upright erected position. 
Other features of the invention are that the near end of the second working 
station, i.e., the closing station, can be determined by the length of the 
guide bar, which length is advantageously made so as to exceed the width 
of the standard folding box. A discharge bar is provided in alignment with 
the guide bar, but is spaced therefrom by an adjustable distance, and the 
interspace thus produced corresponds to the width of the respective 
folding box. 
According to a further development of the invention, for supporting the 
folding box, a receiving bar carried by, and hinged to wing levers or the 
like, is provided in the interspace and is operatively connected to a top 
bar which is provided above the space for the folding box and also carried 
by swing levers or the like in a manner such that the path of travel of 
the top bar resulting from the swing motion is longer than the 
corresponding path of travel of the receiving bar. In accordance with the 
invention, the top bar is provided with a bay-shaped recess corresponding 
to the width of the folding box, and after being lowered, the top bar 
engages over the folding box from above on three sides, while from below, 
the folding box is supported on the receiving bar and held in position 
between the guide bar and the discharge bar. 
A further feature of the invention provides that the advance of the righted 
folding box from the first to the second working station is effected by 
means of a pusher which is mounted below the guide bar and designed as a 
swing arm which, in cooperation with the shifting member staying the 
folding box from the opposite side and the top, forms a frame compartment 
or pocket for holding the box during the advance. 
By the displacement of the shifting member and the pusher, the filled 
folding box is conveyed, along the guide bar, from the first to the second 
working station, i.e., the closing station. 
In accordance with the invention, the shifting member is provided with a 
second recess into which the closed folding box is lifted from the closing 
station and by which the box is held from above and on its side facing the 
first working station and, due to the motion of the shifting member, is 
shifted, in the advance direction, from this transfer position onto the 
discharge bar. 
According to a further development of the invention, upon its disengagement 
by elevation from the closing station, the closed folding box is 
transported from the closing station by the motion of the shifting member 
mounted above. 
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the mechanical means 
for closing the folding box provided at the second working station 
substantially comprises a side-flap deflector, a folding guide for folding 
the tuck-end portion, swing members for swinging the closing flap toward 
the box, and a closing pusher. Advantageously, the closing pusher is 
designed as a double stroke pusher. 
The mechanical means for closing the front side of the folding boxes are 
supported, in accordance with the invention, on a carrier bar which is 
fixedly secured to the machine, while the mechanical means for closing the 
rear side of the folding boxes are supported on a carrier bar which is 
displaceably mounted in a slideway, to permit an adjustment to unequal 
lengths of the folding boxes. 
For reasons of expediency, simplicity and low costs, the invention provides 
that the mechanical means for closing the front and rear sides of the 
folding boxes are, at least approximately, of mutually identical design. 
Two features of the invention complement themselves mutually. One of the 
features is that the pocket receiving the products to be packaged is 
mounted on a slide which is displaceable transversely to the direction in 
which the product is pushed into the boxes and performs a periodical 
reciprocating motion from a supply position into the box-filling position, 
and the other feature is that one wall of the pocket receiving the 
products is designed as a dosaging pusher and provided with a supporting 
portion by which the bottom side of the pile of products to be packaged is 
alternately supported and cleared. 
Finally, the invention provides that at both ends of the pocket receiving 
the products to be packaged, the path of stroke of the pusher transferring 
the products into the folding box exceeds the length of the pocket, so 
that at each end of the stroke, the pusher travels beyond the pocket. 
It is evident that the present invention offers many advantages. The most 
obvious advantage is that all of the working steps which are necessary in 
a fully automatic packaging machine adjustable to size within large limits 
are united in only two working stations. This makes it possible to obtain 
an extremely short overall length, of approximately 600 mm, for a folding 
box width of up to about 80 mm. This means that, without any difficulty, 
the machine can be installed at any working place provided for a purely 
manual activity, which place, in accordance with the usual standards 
corresponds to an area of the extension of approximately 800 mm. 
A not less substantial advantage of the inventive packaging machine is that 
there is no need for the expensive and exacting conveying elements for the 
folding boxes nor for complicated stepping mechanisms or the like such as 
usual in the conventional machines. On the contrary, according to the 
invention, the folding boxes are conveyed as well as exactly fixed in the 
two working stations by means of a few, simple, motions controlled by open 
cams, as well as by means of several fixed bars. 
Another advantage of the inventive machine is the ingenious and, at the 
same time, expedient arrangement of the mechanical means accomplishing the 
tuck-end closures of the folding box. These means are mounted, for the 
front side of the folding box, on a fixed carrier bar and, for the rear 
side of the folding box, on an adjustable carrier bar. To come to a 
correspondingly small or rugged construction of the provided packaging 
machine, it is understood that in practice, of course, the mechanical 
means both for the front and the rear side of the folding box are united 
in a common working station. Due to the adjustable carrier bar provided at 
the rear side of the folding box, a readjustment of the size capacity from 
a shorter to a longer box or inversely, while keeping the cross-section 
unchanged, is made possible within relatively large limits, without any 
exchange of the functional or controlling parts. 
An essential advantage of the invention is also the design and location of 
the pocket for the products to be packaged, associated with the machine. 
The cyclically working pusher introducing the product into the righted 
folding box travels, at either side, beyond the longitudinal extension of 
the pocket so that the produce-receiving pocket can be displaced, during 
the period of overtravel in the filling phase, from its filling position 
into its supply position. During the back travel of the pusher, the pocket 
is charged in its supply position, by hand or also automatically; during 
the overtravel of the pusher at the rear side, the pocket is displaced 
into its box filling position. This ensures that the pocket may be 
continuously supplied with the product without effecting the filling 
speed. With an automatic charging from a pile magazine, the pocket effects 
the necessary motions automatically. This may save additional and, 
thereby, expensive charging devices. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved 
machine for erecting, filling and closing rectangular cartons which are 
flat foldable before erection and which includes a movable support bar 
located below a discharge opening of the magazine, with suction means for 
moving each container in succession past the deflection means to tilt the 
sides of the folded carton to erect them upwardly from the bottom and 
which also includes means for engaging a remote side of the carton wall 
and pushing it against an upright member of the support stand to hold the 
container in a fully erected position while it is filled with a product 
and until it is engaged by pusher means to push it into a second station 
which is made up of a movable bottom support member and top engageable 
member which holds the erected container filled with the product in a 
position at which the end flaps may be easily closed and which permits the 
easy transfer of the filled and closed container onto an adjustable 
discharge bar. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a device for erecting, 
filling and closing flat foldable cartons which may be adjusted in respect 
to carton size and which includes a minimum number of stations, including 
one in which a carton is filled with a product, and another in which the 
end flaps are closed. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a container stuffing device 
which includes means for supporting a stack of products which includes a 
lowermost tray portion supporting the lowermost portion of the stack which 
is displaceable laterally in respect to the stack to shift the lowermost 
portion of the products away from the stack and to support the remaining 
ones and to position the shifted away products to a position at which they 
may be pushed into a container. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a device for closing end 
flaps of a container which is adapted to be located on a side of the 
container which is to be closed and which includes means for folding one 
side flap inwardly in the form of a pivotal member engageable with the 
side flap and a slide member which is engageable with the opposite side 
flap to close it after the first flap has been closed, and which also 
includes an upwardly movable member to engage a flap hinged to either the 
top or bottom of the container so as to push it toward the opposite top or 
bottom and which also includes means for tucking an outer end flap of the 
cover flap so that it will be tucked inside the container as it is moved 
toward the container body to close it. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a device for erecting, 
filling and closing a container, which is simple in design, rugged in 
construction and economical to manufacture. 
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are 
pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part 
of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its 
operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference 
should be had to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which 
there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein, 
comprises a machine for opening flat foldable cartons or containers 5, and 
for thereafter filling them with a product or a multiplicity of such 
products, such as product 105 shown in FIG. 11, and for subsequently 
folding over side flaps and subsequently folding over and tucking in a top 
closure flap of the carton. 
The packaging machine shown in FIG. 1 comprises a frame 1, having a lower 
closed portion containing a drive motor and driving mechanism with 
transmission elements necessary for the operation of the machine (not 
shown). In the upper part of frame 1, a magazine 2 for the flat folded 
boxes or cartons 5 is arranged over two laterally spaced working stations 
3 and 4 defined by guide bars 11 and by a combination or a receiving 
member or bar 23 and a top holder or bar 13, respectively. The two 
stations 3 and 4 are associated with means for conveying the cartons from 
one station to the other station (FIGS. 2 to 4); a device for supplying 
and filling the product to be packaged as shown in detail in FIGS. 11 to 
14, and a mechanism for closing side and cover flaps to close the filled 
carton 5, as shown in detail in FIGS. 5 to 10. Foldable cartons 5 are 
piled in flat-folded state one on the other. During operation, the 
lowermost folding box 6 at the bottom end of the pile is removed by means 
of a suction head 7 mounted on a suction pipe 8 which is movable up and 
down in timed relationship to the pipe 8 by means of driving elements (not 
shown). Suction head 7 engages the bottom of the prefolded and glued 
folding box 5 and moves it downwardly with one side panel 45 of the box 5 
gliding along or past deflection means comprising an unfolding block 9 
mounted in an inclined position between magazine 2 and guide bar 11. 
During this motion, the folding box or carton is opened by deflection of 
side 45 and preliminarily righted to a sort of parallelepiped, and 
transferred into a frame compartment or first station 3 (FIG. 2) which is 
formed by support member 11 and a limiting bar 10 which is formed as a 
vertical connection to one end of the support member 11, and the contact 
surface 12 of a top bar or holder 13 when the bar is in a lowered 
position. 
By means of contact surfaces 14, 15 of a shifting member 16 which is 
mounted on a slideway 17 and performs a rectilinear reciprocating motion 
under the action of a swing lever 20 pivoted at 19 and guided by rods 18, 
box 5, after it engages with its bottom 5B on bar 11, is pushed by the 
contact surface 15 against the limit bar 10, bringing it into upright 
position. The contact surface 14 of member 16 retains and covers the top 
5T of the box from above. Thereby, box 5 is held on four sides in a 
position in station 3 in which it is ready for receiving the product to be 
packaged 105 (FIGS. 11 to 14 and FIG. 3). 
Following the filling operation, a pusher or swing lever 22 which is 
pivoted at 21 engages the folding box on one side and executes a swinging 
motion along with the motion of shifting member 16. Both elements, 16 and 
22, move into the transfer position shown in FIG. 4. Along with contact 
surfaces 14, 15 of shifting member 16, pusher 22 forms a holding frame or 
second station 4 for the box or carton 5. The bottom 5B of the box 5 first 
slides over guide bar 11 and then is received on a receiving bar 23 which 
is in lifted position. 
Receiving bar 23 is connected to bar 13 in a manner such that the path of 
travel of top bar 13 is longer than the path of travel of receiving bar 
23. Therefrom, it results that in lifted position shown in FIG. 4, 
receiving bar 23 and top bar 13 are spaced apart from each other more than 
in the lowered position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. To obtain this effect, 
receiving bar 23 is hinged to swing levers 24, 25, which are pivoted at 
26, 27, 28 and 29. At the same time, receiving bar 23 is connected, 
through links 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 to top bar 13 which is provided with a 
recess or pocket 36. Top bar 13 is hinged to swing levers which are 
pivoted at 39, 40, 41 and 19. 
During lowering of the holding frame formed by receiving bar 23 and top bar 
13, folding box 5 is engaged on three sides by recess 36 and is moved 
downwardly. Thereby, shifting member 16 is disengaged from the folding box 
and the box is applied against receiving bar 23. In this lowered position, 
panel 44 of the folding box is braced, in its bottom portion, by the front 
surface of guide bar 11 and panel 45 of the folding box is laterally held 
by the front surface of an adjustable discharge bar 43. The position of 
the folding box before the lowering may be seen in FIG. 4, while a folding 
box held on four sides and ready for the closing operation in a lowered 
position forming station 4 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
The operation of suction head 7 is synchronized with the drive of shifting 
member 16 and pusher 22 forming the holding frame for the folding box in a 
manner such that a new folding box or carton 5 is introduced into the 
frame compartment at station 3 formed by limiting bar 10, guide bar 11 and 
contact surface 12 of top bar 13 while the preceding folding carton is in 
the position at station 4 indicated in FIG. 2. 
The drive or shifting member 16 is also coordinated with the drive of 
pusher 22 so that member 16 moves toward the first working station only 
after folding box 5 has been brought into its upright position as a 
parallelepiped in the respective frame compartment, (FIG. 2). Due to this 
motion of shifting member 16, the folding box is fully righted, by contact 
surfaces 14, 15 of member 16, see FIG. 3, member 16 and pusher 22 are then 
displaced conjointly from first working station 3 to second working 
station 4, into a transfer position. During this motion, pusher 22 which 
is designed as a swing lever applies against the trailing side panel 44 of 
the folding box while shifting member 16, by means of its contact surface 
15, braces the leading side panel 45 of the folding box. The holding frame 
formed by receiving bar 23 and top bar 13 which are conjointly driven in 
synchronism with shifting member 16 and pusher 22, is now lowered at 
station 4 into a position in which folding box 5 is disengaged from 
shifting member 16. The position before the lowering at station 4 is shown 
in FIG. 4. 
In substantially the same period of time during which the folding box is 
being closed, at second working station 4, another box is removed from 
pile magazine 2 and is righted as well as filled, in the manner already 
described. Shifting member 16 and pusher 22, forming the transfer 
compartment, catch hold of the folding box which is next in the cycle. 
However, prior to their shifting motion, the folding box, which is first 
in the cycle and which in the meantime has been closed, is lifted from 
second working station 4. This closed box is supported by receiving bar 
23, becomes disengaged from top bar 13 and is engaged in its position 
between working stations 3 and 4 by contact surfaces 46, 47 of the recess 
of shifting member 16 and, thereupon, is shifted, by means of contact 
surface 46, to discharge bar 43. 
Second working station 4 is associated with the tuck-end closure units 
which are mounted at the front sides thereof. While in FIGS. 5 and 6, a 
tuck-end closure unit associated with the rear end of a folding box is 
shown, FIGS. 7 to 10 illustrate the individual, cyclic, working phases of 
this unit. 
All component parts and functional elements necessary for closing the 
folding box are supported by or secured to a carrier bar 51 which is 
mounted in a slideway 52 for displacement in the longitudinal direction of 
the folding box. A side flap deflector 57 provided with a rounded portion 
56 is secured to a pivot 55 which is supported by a bearing 53 and 
pivotable by means of a swing lever 54. The deflector executes a 
periodical swinging motion. Thereby, side flap 58 of the folding box is 
swung from its position aligned with side panel 44 into an inwardly folded 
position. At the opposite side, side flap 59 is swung from its position 
aligned with side panel 45 of the folding box into an inwardly folded 
position by means of folding guide 63 which is mounted on a slider 61 for 
reciprocating motion on guide rods 62 and which is designed, in its front 
portion, with a triangular cross-section and is provided with a rounded 
end 60. 
The drive of folding guide 63 is synchronized with the drive of side flap 
deflector 57 in a manner such that in its inwardly extended position, 
guide 63 engages also side flap 58 which has been swung inwardly by 
deflector 57 and, thereupon, swings deflector 57 back into the initial 
position thereof (FIGS. 6 and 7). 
The drive of folding guide 63 is further synchronized with the drive of a 
lifter 64 which is carried by a lever 66 pivoted at 65 and intended for 
lifting the closing flap 67 of folding box 5 from its horizontal position 
into an upwardly inclined position. At the end of this motion, a score 
line 68 which is provided on closing flap 67 in the form of a groove or 
the like is applied against folding guide 63, namely, against the folding 
edge 69 thereof. The lifted closing flap 67 retained by lifter 64 is shown 
in FIG. 8, in which the initial position is also indicated in dotted 
lines. 
A cam disc (not shown) is provided with three differently sloping surfaces, 
as well as with three different radii. This cam disc is synchronized with 
the drives of side flap deflector 57, folding guide 63 and lifter 64, 
through a contact roller (also not shown). The cam disc causes the 
pivoting of a swing lever (not shown). This lever effects, through 
connecting members 70, 71, the advancing and retracting motion of a double 
stroke pusher in a manner such that the advance takes place in two partial 
strokes of unequal length and the retraction takes place in a single 
stroke. Connecting members 70, 71 (FIG. 5) are coupled to swing levers 72, 
74 which are pivoted at 73. The double stroke pusher comprises the members 
80, 81, 82, 83 and 84 and is mounted on a support 79 and connected to a 
slider 78. 
A guide roller 75 mounted on swing lever 74 for rotation about a pivot pin 
76 is engaged in the slideway 77 of slider 78. Guided on guide bars 86 
which are secured to a support 85, slider 78 is thereby adapted to execute 
both the advance and the retracting motion. While executing the first 
partial stroke of the advance, tuck-end portion 87 (FIG. 8) of closing 
flap 67 is folded, at edge 69. As shown in FIG. 9, a folding angle 82 
which is carried on guide rods 80 and biased by compression springs 81, 
and covered from above in a manner such that the leading edge of tuck end 
portion 87 is brought into a position close in front of folding box 5. 
During the second partial stroke, tuck end portion 87 is introduced into 
the folding box while gliding on the underside of folding angle 82 now 
serving as a guide. 
To effect the second partial stroke, a stop 89 is provided which is carried 
by a support 88 and stops the folding angle 82 so that a closing plate 84 
secured to a strip 83 advances below the folding angle and pushes tuck end 
portion 87 completely into the folding box. For this purpose, guide rods 
80 carrying folding angle 82 are mounted for displacement in support 79 
and folding angle 82 is biased by compression springs 81, see FIGS. 9 and 
10. 
First working station 3 is associated with a pocket 91 for the products to 
be packaged (see FIGS. 11 to 14). The pocket is provided at the front side 
of the box and is shiftable transversely thereto. The driving mechanisms 
for pocket 91 as well as for a pusher 108 are synchronized with the drives 
of the conveying elements of the folding box and of the functional members 
of the tuck-end closure unit. This ensures a correct transfer of the 
product to be packaged from pocket 91 into the folding box ready for 
receiving. 
Pocket 91 is carried on a support 92 and is mounted, along therewith, on a 
common slide 93 (FIG. 13). A guide roller 94 engages the guideway 98 of 
slide 93 whereby a periodic movement from a charging position 101 
laterally into a filling position 102 is imparted to slide 93 and pocket 
91. To this end, guide roller 94 is pivoted at 95 to swing lever 97 which, 
in turn, is pivotally mounted at 96. Slide 93 is guided by means of guide 
bars 100 which are secured to a support 99. 
If an automatic charging of pocket 91 from a pile magazine 103 is provided, 
rear side wall 104 of pocket 91 acts as a pusher by means of which, for 
example, a pilable product 15 is pushed out of pile magazine 103. A 
support 106 which is secured to side wall 104 of pocket 91 is intended to 
form the magazine bottom for the product pile during the phase in which 
pocket 91 is shifted into its filling position, and to clear the discharge 
end of pile magazine 103 during the phase in which pocket 91 is shifted 
into its charging position. 
Pusher 108 is secured to a bracket 109 and is mounted, along therewith, on 
a slider 110. A guide roller 111, mounted at the center of rotation 112 of 
a swing lever 114 which, in turn, is pivoted at 113, engages the guideway 
115 of slider 110. Slider 110, along with pusher 108, execute a periodic 
reciprocating motion. The stroke of this motion is slightly longer than 
the length of pocket 91 so that an overtravel takes place at both sides. 
Slider 110 is guided by means of guide rods 116. 
In FIGS. 12 and 14, a circle is diagrammatically indicated which is 
subdivided into four sectors of circle. The circle corresponds to one full 
revolution of the cycle-controlled shaft of the machine. Within the period 
corresponding to sector 119, pocket 91 stands still so that a filling of 
the box by means of pusher 108 can take place and during the period of 
sector 120, pusher 108 executes its overstroke. Thereby, product 105 to be 
packaged is pushed, through a guide member 117, into folding box 5, 
whereupon, pocket 91 is shifted back from its filling position into its 
charging or supply position. Finally, during the period of sector 121, 
pocket 91 is ready for charging in its supply position while pusher 108 
executes its idle return stroke. 
Even if not belonging to the invention and, therefore, not shown, it is 
easily possible to complement the inventive packaging machine in an 
advantageous manner with a device for automatic feeding of prospectus, 
folders or the like. 
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described 
in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the 
invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied 
otherwise without departing from such principles.