Patent ID: 7303519

Claim:
A folding and gluing machine for converting a sheet like corrugated blank having a top, bottom, two sides and two ends into the top or bottom corrugated panel for a corrugated pallet, with each panel having at least two spaced apart parallel struts, with each strut having two legs formed in the area between weakened lines impressed in the blank by folding and gluing the two legs together, with each strut being perpendicular to the panel and extending from one end of the panel to the other, said machine comprising: conveying means for conveying the blank through the machine along a given path, said machine having a folding and gluing section with an elongate anvil for forming each strut, said anvil extending in a longitudinal direction along said path, said machine having two side means to exert pressure on the sides of the corrugated blank as it is conveyed through the machine, said side means of the machine being tapered inwardly from the front to the end of the folding and gluing section to force the corrugated blank to form each strut against said anvil along the weakened lines in the blank, said machine having means to commence the formation of each strut by pushing the area of the blank between the weakened lines out of the plane of the blank and having means to hold the rest of the blank in a single plane during the compression by the side means of the machine, said machine having a gluing means to apply glue to each leg of each strut to hold the strut together, in which the side means to exert pressure on the sides of the corrugated blank is a chain positioned on each side of the machine which is designed to run in a longitudinal direction with the blank along the given path through the folding and gluing section, with said chain being constructed of a plurality of lugs attached together, with each lug having a side facing inwardly into the machine, with the inward side of at least a substantial number of such lugs having a groove designed to stay in contact with the side of a blank during its formation into a panel in the folding and gluing section of the machine, with the chains exerting pressure on the sides of the blank to form the struts against the anvils.