Patent ID: 7316642

Claim:
An apparatus for forming containers fed with side walls thereof arranged in a flattened tubular configuration, comprising: a conveyance line; a device for opening containers that comprises a laminar element constituted by an upper plate and by a lower plate, said upper and lower plates being thin and mutually pivoted along respective sides about a longitudinal axis that is substantially perpendicular to an advancement direction of the containers, said laminar element being actuatable for performing a translational motion, for each cycle for opening the containers, parallel to said longitudinal axis from a retracted position to an extended position for insertion between the side walls of the container in the flattened tubular configuration, said lower plate being arranged substantially on an advancement surface for the containers, said upper plate being actuatable for rotation about said longitudinal axis and with said laminar element in said extended position, from an angular position for insertion in the container, in which the upper plate is substantially superimposed on said lower plate, to an angular position that is inclined with respect to said lower plate, so as to raise said side walls at a preset angle in said squared configuration; retention-abutment means for abutment and retention of the containers in an open configuration which comprise at least one oscillating element that is arranged substantially above said laminar element and can move from an upper position, in which the oscillating element is raised in order to allow the rotation of said upper plate together with said side walls of the container, to a lower position, in which said at least one oscillating element substantially acts on the container so as to retain the container in said open configuration, preventing spontaneous reclosure thereof in said flattened tubular configuration; and transfer means for transferring open containers into respective variable-geometry receptacles of the conveyance line, said opening device, retention-abutment means and transfer means being operatively associated and said receptacles being movable from a first open configuration for receiving the containers to a second closed configuration for conveying the containers to a subsequent treatment station.