Patent GB-338212-A (GB)
Title: Improvement in carton opening and filling machine
IPC: B65B43/32
Filed: 1929-08-15
Abstract: 338,212. Package Machinery Co. Sept 27, 1928, [Convention date]. Divided on 319,732. Filling and closing cartons.-Collapsed cartons are opened, filled and closed, the cartons being subjected to a preliminary partial opening to break the rigidity of the creases and to facilitate the complete opening. The successive operations are performed on the carton during its uninterrupted travel through the machine, and means are provided to prevent the feed of a carton if there is no article ready to be inserted therein. Feeding and opening cartons. The cartons a, Fig. 18, rest on ledges 33 in a magazine 30, Fig. 5. Each carton has two short flaps b, d, and b<1>, d<1> and two long flaps c, e and c', e<1> at each end. To facilitate folding, the flaps d, e, d', e<1> are made narrower than the others. A blade 58, for removing the lower-most carton from the magazine, is mounted on a slide 57 having, in a depending arm 59, a pivot 60 on a yoke attached to a chain 48. The slide is movable on a rod 54 forming part of a parallel motion mechanism on pivots 50, and the rotation of the sprocket 46 causes the blade 58 to approach the lowermost carton with a rising movement so that it strikes the long. flaps d, e, which are uppermost. A horizontal movement ensues, during which the blade passes between the flaps c, e and b, d respectively, and into the interior of the carton. It then descends, causing the edges of the carton to bend considerably when passing the ledges 33. During the withdrawal of the blade, the angle pieces 30 act as strippers to remove the carton, which is now moved by oscillating fingers 65, Fig. 3, on to a conveyer shown in Fig. 9, in which the opening of the carton is completed. The conveyer comprises links 78, 79, 80, passing round sprockets 74, 75, arranged so that a tooth of one wheel is at the top at the same time as a valley of the other wheel. Each link 78 carries a pusher 81 with a hook portion 82 to grasp the rear edge of a carton, and an abutment 83 with a seating edge 84 is arranged on each link 80, which also carries an ejector finger 85. The act of passing round the sprockets causes the parts 81, 83, 85 to assume the successive positions shown in Figs. 13, 19, and 16, during which the walls of the carton are opened up into rectangular formation by the parts 81, 83, and the ejector 85 pushes the opened carton on to a guideway 86. Filling and closing cartons. As the opened carton is being carried along in the conveyer 78, 79, 80, its end flaps b, c, Fig. 19, are acted upon by a swinging folder 90, Fig. 3, and stationary rail 93 respectively to fold them in. A wrapped article is next inserted, by an arm 121 with a pusher head 122, which thrusts the article from a conveyer chain 115, with curved pusher plates 119, into the carton. The pusher is caused to swing in synchronism with the rear flap folders on an arc so arranged that the component of motion parallel to the conveyers corresponds approximately to the linear speed of the conveyers, and is thus maintained in contact with the rear end of the article during the insertion. A swinging folder 94 folds forward the flap b<1>, and a fixed folder turns back the flap c<1> upon it. The bottom flaps d, d<1>, are now engaged by plough-shaped folders and turned upwards, leaving only the flaps e, e', outstanding. Stop-motion. In order to prevent the feed of a carton when no article is in position to be fed into it, detector mechanism is arranged to cause the carton magazine to be vertically elevated a sufficient distance to cause the feeding blade to pass beneath the lowermost carton, so that no carton is fed. Specification 319,732 is referred to.