Patent ID: 7717838

Claim:
A machine for forming a case from a blank of sheet material, the blank having a plurality of panels including a first panel, a second panel, and a third panel for forming at least one of a back wall, a top wall, and a front wall of the case, the blank extending in a longitudinal direction, said machine comprising: a frame; a mandrel fixedly mounted on the frame, said mandrel comprising a plurality of faces including seven faces along a cross section of the mandrel, the cross section defined by a center plane extending in the longitudinal direction and perpendicular to a first face of the mandrel, said mandrel faces defining an external shape complimentary to an internal shape of at least a portion of the case; a lifting mechanism comprising a pressure plate, the lifting mechanism configured to position the blank proximate the mandrel with the first panel substantially aligned with the first face of the mandrel, the pressure plate configured to direct the first panel toward the first face and hold the first panel against the first face; a body member movably mounted to the frame; a first rotating member rotatably mounted to the body member adjacent the mandrel for applying a controlled force to the blank for folding a portion of the blank around the mandrel including folding the second panel into face-to-face contact with second face of the mandrel and folding the third panel into face-to-face contact with a third face of the mandrel, the first rotating member applying the controlled force to the blank by rotating about a rotational axis; and a first servomechanism operatively connected to the first rotating member for rotating the first rotating member relative to the body member in a first direction at a first rotational speed and in a second direction opposite the first direction, the first servomechanism configured to control and vary the first rotational speed of the first rotating member to apply the controlled force to the blank to facilitate wrapping the second panel and the third panel around the mandrel.