Patent ID: 7328561

Claim:
In combination with a magazine holding a stack of flattened box blanks and a conveyor continuously displacing a row of cells adjacent the magazine, a box-erecting and loading apparatus comprising: a first nonrotating sun wheel centered on a sun axis between the magazine and the conveyor; a planet carrier rotatable about the sun axis and defining a first planet axis generally parallel to but offset from the sun axis; a gripper shaft journaled in the planet carrier at the first planet axis; a gripper extending radially of the first planet axis from the gripper shaft; a first planet wheel carried on the gripper shaft; a first toothed belt engaged with the first sun wheel and with the first planet wheel; first drive means for rotating the planet carrier about the sun axis and thereby orbiting the first planet axis about the sun axis and rotating the gripper shaft with its gripper about the first planet axis, the effective diameters of the first wheels being such that on one revolution of the planet carrier about the sun axis the gripper moves through a hypocycloidal path having nodes at the magazine and at the conveyor; an erecting shaft pivotal on the planet carrier about a second planet axis; an erecting element extending radially of the second planet axis from the erecting shaft; and second drive means independent of the first drive means for rotating the erecting shaft and its erecting element about the second planet axis and unfolding a flattened box blank held by the gripper.