Patent ID: 6993889

Claim:
A system for packaging products, comprising: a series of carriers each adapted to receive at least one product therein; an inserter unit that receives and moves the carriers in spaced series along a path of travel for packaging, and which includes a series of inserter assemblies adapted to engage and urge the products out of the carriers; a carton transport conveyor moving a series of cartons in timed relationship with the movement of the carriers along their path of travel such that the products are received within the cartons as the products are urged out of the carriers by the inserter assemblies; and a funnel conveyor positioned between the inserter unit and the carton transport conveyor and having a series of funnels mounted therealong for guiding groups of the products into the cartons of the carton transport conveyor, so that for each of the funnels a respective group of the groups of the products passes through an upstream opening of the funnel and then through a downstream opening of the funnel while the funnel guides the respective group of the products into a respective carton of the cartons, and the funnel tapers so that the downstream opening of the funnel is narrower than the upstream opening of the funnel, wherein the system further comprises one or more carrier conveyors along which the carriers are loaded with products and are conveyed to the inserter unit, and wherein the system further comprises at least one selector unit positioned along the path of travel of the carriers upstream from the inserter unit for metering multiple lines of carriers being fed into the inserter unit.