US3673763A

US3673763A - Carton erecting and packaging machine

Info

Publication number: US3673763A
Application number: US50238A
Authority: US
Inventors: Oskar Dorfmann
Original assignee: GRAND CITY CONTAINER CORP
Current assignee: GRAND CITY CONTAINER CORP
Priority date: 1970-06-26
Filing date: 1970-06-26
Publication date: 1972-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-04

Abstract

Automatic carton erecting and packaging machines for single blank (one part) and double blank (two part) cartons are described. Tubular bumpers are automatically formed on initially flat carton blanks in a low friction operation by folding the side flaps of the blanks over a forming bar with a series of roll over cams. The newly formed bumpers are then brought into engagement with a series of double angle wheels which simultaneously apply lateral and downward pressure to the bumpers to insure that their cross-sections form true squares or rectangles. The forming bar, the roll over cams and the double angle wheels are easily adjustable in the horizontal and vertical directions so as to accommodate carton blanks of various sizes. Also, the angular positions of the roll over cams and the double angle wheels are easily adjustable. A contoured flight which pushes the carton blank through the bumper forming and gluing operations also engages the article to be packaged and inserts it into proper position in the carton blank. In the double blank carton machine, the filled carton and its cover are simultaneously conveyed into engagement for the final gluing and closing operation. In the single blank carton machine, a rotating roll-over bar closes the carton cover as it is conveyed to the final gluing and closing operation.

Description

United States Patent Dorfmann 1 July4, 1972 [54] CARTON ERECTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Oskar Dorfmann, North Bergen, NJ.

Grand-City Container Corporation, North Bergen, NJ.

[22] Filed: June 26,1970

[21] Appl.No.: 50,238

[72] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

[52] US. Cl ..53/l83, 53/209, 93/51 HW [51] Int. Cl. ..B65b 5/02, 1365b 11/18 [58] Field of Search ..53/29, 183, 186, 209;

Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee AztorneyDarby 8L Darby 57] ABSTRACT Automatic carton erecting and packaging machines for single blank (one part) and double blank (two part) cartons are described. Tubular bumpers are automatically formed on initially flat carton blanks in a low friction operation by folding the side flaps of the blanks over a forming bar with a series of roll over cams. The newly formed bumpers are then brought into engagement with a series of double angle wheels which simultaneously apply lateral and downward pressure to the bumpers to insure that their cross-sections form true squares or rectangles. The forming bar, the roll over cams and the double angle wheels are easily adjustable in the horizontal and vertical directions so as to accommodate carton blanks of various sizes. Also, the angular positions of the roll over cams and the double angle wheels are easily adjustable. A contoured flight which pushes the carton blank through the bumper forming and gluing operations also engages the article to be packaged and inserts it into proper position in the carton blank. In the double blank carton machine, the filled carton and its cover are simultaneously conveyed into engagement for the final gluing and closing operation. In the single blank carton machine, a rotating roll-over bar closes the carton cover as it is conveyed to the final gluing and closing operation.

25 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL "4 mm 3,673 76 3 sum 1 Of a INVENT R. OSKAR DORF ANN ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJUL 4 I972 3.673 .763

SHEET u or 8 1/ /////////V/ ///LLlA r/// y/ /v 1/5111 L INVENTOR OSKAR DOR FMANN ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJUL 41972 3. 673 763 sum 6 or a I 9O INVENTOR. 20 OSKAR DORFMAN N ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJUM 1912 3573 763 SHEET 7 0F 8 INVENTOR OSKAR DORFM A N N ATTORNEYS CARTON ERECTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE This invention relates to improved machines for auto-matically erecting, filling and closing single blank and double blank cartons which have extendedside flaps for forming tubular bumpers or side walls on the cartons and corresponds to my earlier filed United States patent application, Ser. No. 26,227, for Carton Erecting And Packaging Machine," filed Apr. 7, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,660.

In packaging books, records, tape cartridges and cassettes for shipment, it has been found advantageous to utilize cartons having tubular side walls. The tubular side walls serve as bumpers which hold the article contained in the carton securely in place, provide an air pocket of protection for the article and provide protection for the comers of the article. It has been shown that glued tubular bumpers provide the strongest protection in cartons of this type for articles in transit. In the single blank version of these cartons, the top or cover is integral with the rest of the carton. In the double blank version, the top is a separate piece. These cartons are often shipped to users with the bumpers erected and glued in place so that it is only necessary for the user to fill the cartons and close and glue the cover. However, because of the substantial freight costs involved in shipping the partially erected cartons and because of the additional cost involved in pre-gluing the bumpers, many users, especially the larger ones, prefer to have the carton blanks shipped to them unerected in a flat position so that they can erect, fill and close the cartons themselves.

ln order to meet the requirements of the larger users, automatic packaging machines have been developed which erect, fill and close the cartons. One problem with these conventional packaging machines is that a funnel and plough arrangement is used to erect the tubular bumpers. Unavoidably, a great amount of friction is produced during this operation thereby necessitating that the operation be conducted at a low speed. Furthennore, the operation often results in the deformation of the front edges of the carton bumper.

Furthermore, difficulty is encountered in many of the conventional packaging machines during the insertion of the article to be packaged into the partially erected carton blank, i.e., a blank with the bumpers erected. This operation is often done manually because of these difficulties, thereby detracting from the automated nature of the system and causing further expense.

Another problem with the conventional packaging machine is that it is usually adapted to operate only on carton blanks of a uniform size. However, many users are involved in packaging books, records and other articles, such as tapes, and therefore require a machine which is capable of performing the erecting, filling and closing operations on carton blanks of various sizes.

Another problem with the conventional methods for forming tubular bumpers on a carton blank is that the cross-sections of the bumpers formed do not constitute a true square or rectangle. This results from the outermost portion of the side flap of an unerected carton (which forms the bottom side of the tubular bumper) not being in contact with the innermost portion of the side flap (which forms the outer lateral side of the tubular bumper) during the bumper forming and gluing operations. Two problems result when the cross-section of a finished bumper does not constitute a true square or a true rectangle. The first problem is material waste. The carton blank material in the gap formed between the outermost and innermost portions of the side flap, which often measures up to one-quarter inch, serves no useful purpose and adds to the overall dimension of each carton. For the large user, this wasted material means additional expense for carton blank material. The second, and far more serious problem, relates to the necessity of over-dimensioning the carton blank to accommodate the article to be packaged because of unpredictability of the exact dimension of the gap between the outermost and innermost portions of the side flap. As will be explained in more detail below, when bumpers are preglued on a carton blank before shipment to the user, it is necessary to have a gap between the outermost and innermost portions of the side flap. This is because the bumper must be bent to a substantially flat position for shipping purposes and if the outermost and innermost portions were in contact the seam joining the bottom wall of the carton blank tothe side flap would burst. To prevent this from occurring, a gap is purposely formed between the two portions in forming the pre-glued bumpers. However, because of the inability to determine the exact dimension of the gap, the carton blank must be over-dimensioned so that regardless of the size of the gap, the article will fit into the carton blank. Accordingly, the articles in cartons having pre-glued bumpers are not flush with the inner lateral walls of the bumpers and are thereby loosely packaged. It is the loose packaging which is the major problem because the article is much more likely to sustain damage in such a condition.

A further problem with conventional packaging machines is that the front or leading end flap is often crushed during the formation of the cartons tubular bumpers.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for erecting tubular bumpers on, filling and closing, a single blank carton with extended side flaps.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for erecting tubular bumpers on, filling and closing, a double blank carton with extended side flaps.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic carton erecting and packaging machine which does not deform the front edges of a carton blank during the erecting of the carton s side bumpers.

it is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic carton erecting and packaging machine which automatically holds the formed carton bumpers spread apart during the filling operation for easy insertion of the article to be packaged into the carton.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for single and double blank cartons which is easily adaptable to carton blanks of difierent sizes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic carton erecting and packaging machine which forms tubular bumpers which are truly square or truly rectangular in cross section This invention provides automatic carton erecting and packaging machines for single blank cartons and for double blank cartons,both with extended side flaps, which are fed into their respective machines flat in an unerected position. The invention is best understood by dividing its description into three sections corresponding to the machines functional operations, that is, erecting, filling and closing the carton blank. it should be understood that the erecting and filling operations in both the single blank and double blank machines is exactly the same. It is only in the operation of closing the carton blank that the two machines difi'er.

The first section of both of the machines referred to above is the erecting section in which tubular bumpers are formed from the side flaps of an initially flat carton blank. A longitudinally extending, continuously moving dual chain drive is mounted on appropriate supporting structure. A series of flights which are collapsibly mounted on the dual chain drive are for engaging the rearward end flap edge of a flat carton blank and pushing it forwardly through the machines erecting section. The side flaps of the initially flat carton blank first engage a pair of curved ploughs which raise the side flaps to an angle of approximately 60. The carton blank then progresses through a pair of second ploughs which fold the side flaps of the carton blank over a pair of forming bars. The carton blank then progresses to the bumper forming operation where a series of roll-over cams on each side of the machine bend the carton's side flaps over the pair of forming bars as the carton moves forwardly. The roll-over cams permit the bumper forming operation to proceed at a relatively high speed in comparison to the conventional erecting process where funnels are used. This is because the cams only have line contact with the side flaps of the carton, thereby reducing the amount of friction involved in the operation. The roll-over cams form tubular bumpers whose cross-section is substantially the shape of a square or rectangle by guiding the outermost portion of each side flap into engagement with the side flaps lowermost portion. The newly fonned tubular bumpers then engage a series of double angle wheels which simultaneously provide lateral and downward pressure on the bumpers. The downward pressure insures that the outermost portion of the carton blank side flap which forms the bottom wall of the tubular bumper is securely glued to the bottom wall of the carton blank. As a result of the downwardpressure, the cross-section of the bumper assumes the shape of a rhombus or rhomboid. The lateral pressure insures that the outermost portion of the side flap of the carton blank remains in contact with the lowermost portion of the side flap which forms the lateral wall of the tubular bumper so that the rhombus or rhomboid shape of the bumper cross-section is retained. The simultaneous application of lateral and downward pressure by the double angle wheels is important in the formation of tubular bumpers which are eventually truly rectangular or truly square. The newly formed tubular bumpers then engage a series of flat rollers which exert lateral pressure on the bumpers and which hold the bumpers spread at an angle away from the carton for easy insertion of the article to be packaged into the carton as the carton moves forwardly toward the machines filling section.

The filling section of the machine, in which the article to be packaged is inserted into the carton blank having newly formed tubular bumpers, is located forwardly of and in direct line with the machines erecting section. A hopper containing the articles to be packaged is positioned over the dual chain drive. The flight which pushes the carton blank through the erecting section of the machine is contoured so that its lower portion engages the edge of the rearward end flap of the carton blank. The upper section of the flight engages the lowermost. article in the hopper when the carton blank passes beneath the hopper and pushes the article onto the carton blank as the blank progresses forwardly through the machines filling section. The positioning flight is contoured such that when the article is pushed out from the hopper it is correctly positioned in the carton blank, i.e., centrally of the rearward and forward end flaps of the carton blank. As the carton passes beneath the hopper, the sides of the hopper engage the inner lateral walls of newly formed bumpers and hold them spread outwardly to facilitate insertion of the article to be packaged into the carton blank.

In the closing section of the machine, glue is applied to the carton blank and its cover and the cover is placed on the filled carton and secured in position. In the machine for the single blank carton, a roll-over bar positioned forwardly of the hopper engages the cover of the single blank carton and rolls it closed over the filled carton. Glue is applied to the outer lateral walls of the tubular bumper for securing the cover in place, a pair of curved ploughs force the side flaps of the cover against the bumpers, and the closed single blank carton is conveyed to a second conveyor positioned perpendicular to the first conveyor and connected to the first conveyor by a right angle drive which glues and closes the rearward end flaps of the carton and the cover so that the carton is ready for shipment. The only difference between the first conveyor for the single blank carton machine and the first conveyor for the double blank carton machine is that the latter lacks the roll over bar, cover closing ploughs and glue applicators, since its cover is not integral with the carton blank. After emerging from the filling section of the machine on the first conveyor, the carton blank in the double blank machine is conveyed to a second conveyor which is positioned perpendicular to the first 'conveyor and which is connected to the first conveyor by a right angle drive. A tower or closing cage in which the covers are applied and secured to the double blank cartons and from which the double blank cartons are conveyed for shipment is located at the end of the second conveyor. A cover conveying mechanism which includes a third conveyor located perpendicular to the machines second conveyor and aligned with the machines closing tower, supplies a cover for the filled cartons. As the cover and the carton blank approach the closing tower simultaneously, they both have glue applied to their surfaces. When a cover and a carton blank are exactly positioned in the closing cage, a piston or other mechanical device positioned beneath the-carton blank pushes it upwardly into engagement with its cover and into the closing tower in which the glued sections of the carton and cover have sufficient time to dry. As each succeeding carton and cover is pushed into the closing tower, the preceding carton and cover is pushed further upwardly into the open top tower until it reaches a conveyor or other appropriate mechanism which transmits the packaged article for shipment.

Another feature of this invention is that a device is provided in the erecting section of the machine for automatically breaking the scoreline which is formed in the forward and rearward end flaps of a carton having the patented bellows arrangement of US. Pat. No. 3,386,641. In the past, it was necessary to break the scoreline by hand to insure that the bellows arrangement folded inwardly rather than outwardly-In both the single blank and double blank machines, the breaking of the scoreline in cartons having the patented bellows arrangement, is accomplished by a double cam and pusher arrangement positioned beneath the machines erecting section.

Another feature of this invention relates to the adjustability of the various elements in the erecting section of both of the machines which permits the machines to operate on carton blanks of various sizes.

Another feature of this invention relates to the use of a weight bar to aid in gluing the bottom wall of the tubular bumper to the bottom wall of the carton blank. The weight bar is inserted into the tubular bumper as it passes through the double angle wheels on the first conveyor. The weight bar is especially useful when the machine is operating on light weight material rather than corrugated material.

A further advantage of the machines of this invention is their ability to process flat carton blanks since flat blanks are more economical to manufacture and less costly to ship than comparable cartons having pre-glued bumpers.

These and other objects and features of this invention will be more readily understood and appreciated by reference to the following descriptions and drawings, in which:

FIG. IA is a perspective view of the forward portion of the erecting section of the machine of this invention;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the rearward portion of the erecting section and the filling and closing sections of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, adapted for use with a single blank carton;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the rearward portion of the erecting section and the filling and closing sections of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, adapted for use with a double blank carton;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, taken along the line 22;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, taken along the line 3-3;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the machine illustrated in FIG. IA, taken generally along the line 3-3 with emphasis on the machine structure;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, taken along the line 44;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, taken along the line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A, taken along the line 66;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view ofthe erectingsection of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1A,'taken alongthe line 7-7;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged, partial crowsectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1B, taken along the line 8-8;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1B, taken along the line 9-9;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the erecting section of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1B, taken along the line l0l0;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, side elevational view of the device positioned beneath the erecting section of the machine for breaking the scoreline inwardly on carton blanks having end flaps with a bellows arrangement;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the first conveyor illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C;

FIG. 13 is a partial, side elevational view of the filling and closing sections of the machine illustrated in FIG. 18;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of a roll-over cam illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of a double angle wheel illustrated in FIG. 1A; and

FIG. 16 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of a prior art pre-glued bumper.

In the following description, the automatic erecting and packaging machine of this invention is described in three parts, corresponding to the function that the particular section of the machine performs, namely, erecting, filling or closing the carton. Furthermore, the description of the preferred embodiment of the machine relates to its operation on an unerected, single blank carton. In an alternate embodiment of the machine, its operation on an unerected, double blank carton is described. Since the mechanisms on each side of the various sections of the machine are the same and function in a similar manner, only the mechanisms on one side of the machine are described below, except where the same mechanisms on opposite sides of the machine function differently.

l. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT (a). Erecting Section Referring to FIG. 1A, the front portion of the erecting section of the machine is illustrated. The remainder of the machine's erecting section is illustrated in FIG. 1B.

The single blank carton 10 illustrated in FIG. 1A is composed of a bottom wall 1 1, forward and rearward end flaps 12 and side flaps l4.

Scorelines

14a, 14b, 14c and 14d are stamped into each of the carton blank side flaps 14 to permit the side flaps to be more easily bent into tubular bumpers. For purposes of description, the panel bounded by

scorelines

14a and 14b is designated panel 14a; the panel bound by

scorelines

14b and 140 is designated panel 14b and the following panels are designated

panels

14c and 14d. When the carton blank is thick, the

scorelines

14a, 14b, 14c and 14d may be alternately cut or perforated to permit further ease in bending. In addition, the carton blank may be of the type having a corner reinforcement composed of a bellows arrangement between the side and end flaps with a scoreline Me at the bellows junction. Such a carton is described in US. Pat. No. 3,386,641 which issued June 4, 1968.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 3A and 12, the first conveyor 1 of the machine of this invention is basically composed of a longitudinally extending split table 20 having an inner portion 20a and an outer portion 20b on each side of the table with a groove 20c between the portions. The table 20 is referred to as split because there is a gap between the inner portions 20a of each side of the table. Two power chains 22 are positioned in the space between the adjacent inner portions 20a of the split table 20. The power chains 22 are each driven by a wheel sprocket 24 which is attached to a power axle 26. A source of power (not shown) is provided at one end of the power axle. Each of a pair of right angle gear boxes 28 is attached to power axle 26 on each side of the machine so as to engage driven axle 96. The power axle 26 is horizontally movable toward and away from the sprockets 24 in order to adapt the first conveyor to a carton having a greater or lesser width than the carton illustrated in FIG. 1A. Accordingly, a key and slot arrangement of a similar mechanism is formed on power axle 26 so that split table 20 is movable horizontally outwardly. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIG. 12, it is seen that the dual power chains 22 extend the length of the first conveyor.

A series of flights 34 are collapsibly attached to the power chains 22 at several points along the first conveyor. Each of the flights 34 is for pushing a carton blank forwardly along the first conveyor through the various operations to be performed on it. Since the movement of the power chains 22 is continuous, each of the carton blanks 10 is pushed uninterruptedly along the length of the first conveyor.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 13, each of the flights 34 is collapsibly mounted on the power chains 22 by means of an angle cam follower 36. Each cam follower 36 engages a cam rail 38 which is positioned centrally of the split table 20 and below the horizontal surface of the table. The cam rail 38 extends longitudinally the length of the first conveyor parallel to the horizontal split table 20. However, toward the end of the first conveyor, the rail 38 slopes downwardly so that the cam follower 36 which is supporting the flight 34 in an upright position runs off the rail. As the cam follower 36 runs ofi the rail 38, the flight 34 collapses backwardly and downwardly, as indicated in dotted lines on the right hand side of FIG. 13. The downward slope in the cam rail 38'is positioned so that the flight 34 collapses downwardly when the carton blank 20 is completely positioned on the second conveyor 2 which is positioned perpendicular to the first conveyor 1. A counterweight 40 which is attached to the flight 34 by a lever arm 42 causes the flight to collapse backwardly when the cam follower 36 runs ofi' the rail 38. Instead of having a cam follower, the bottom surface of the flight cam be in direct contact with the cam rail.

As further illustrated in FIG. 13, the flight 34 is composed of a lower section 34a and an upper section 34b which is mounted atop the lower section. The lever arm 42 is connected to the flights lower section 34a. The flights lower section 340 cooperates with the lower part of the upper section 34b to provide a surface for pushing the carton blanks rearward edge 12 forwardly. The upper part of the flights upper section 34b extends forwardly from its lower part to engage the article 9 to be packaged, as will be described in more detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 3A, a forming bar 48 which extends along a substantial length of the first conveyor is supported directly above the split table inner portion 20a by the supporting structure 50 positioned above the first conveyor. The supporting structure includes a supporting rod 52 which is welded or attached by other appropriate means to the forming bar 48 and which is slidably supported in a collar 54. The collar is supported at an angle of approximately in a horizontal plate 56 having an aperture in which the collar 54 is mounted. The horizontal plate 56 is slidably supported in guide rails 58 which permit the horizontal plate to be adjusted inwardly and outwardly to adapt to cartons of varying widths. The collar 54 permits adjustability of the supporting rod 52 and hence the forming bar 48 at an angle of 60 with the horizontal so as to be adaptable to carton blanks having tubular bumpers of varying heights. The supporting rod 52 can be secured in the collar 54 by any appropriate means. As explained in detail below, the purpose of the forming bar 48 is to provide a member about which the carton blank side flaps 14 may be bent in order to form the desired tubular bumpers. To accomplish this result it is necessary that the forming bar 48 coact with the first plough 46, a second curved plough positioned forwardly of the first curved plough 46 and with the roll-over

cams

62, 64 and 66 positioned forwardly of the second curved plough 60 on the first conveyor.

The forming bar 48 is substantially the shape of an upside down L inclined at an angle of 60. A thin rod 68 is attached to the forming bar 48 at the beginning of the first conveyor and extends rearwardly in a substantially horizontal position.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 2, a first curved plough 46 is mounted on each of the split table outer portions 20b. Plough 46 curves from a horizontal position to an angle of approximately 60 with the horizontal. Accordingly, as the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor after having been initially placed on the conveyor in a substantially flat position, the carton blank side flap 14 engages the curved plough 46 and is forced to bend about rod 68 at score line 14a at an angle of approximately 60.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A, 3 and 3A, an adjustable guideway 70 is positioned forwardly of the termination point of the first plough 46. The adjustable guideway is supported in the groove 20c between the split tables inner and

outer portions

20a and 20b by an obtuse angle bracket 72 which is attached to the underside of the split tables outer portion 20b. The guideway 70 is adjustably attached to the bracket so as to be adaptable to canon blanks having tubular bumpers of varying heights.

As to the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor, the side flap 14 which has been bent to an angle of sixty degrees engages the guideway 70 which is also at an angle of 60.

A second curved plough 60 is supported by the adjustable guideway 70. The curved plough 60 is initially flared outwardly in a substantially vertical direction. Progressing forwardly along the first conveyor, the plough 60 curves downwardly to an angle of approximately thirty degrees with the horizontal position. Since the plough is attached to the upper portion of the adjustable guideway 70, it is automatically adjusted when the guideway is adjusted for adaptibility to cartons of varying bumper heights. This second plough serves to bend the carton blanks side flap 14 at scoreline 14b to an angle of approximately 30 with the horizontal thereby forming panel 14a.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 3A, a forming angle iron 59 is attached to the inwardly facing wall of forming bar 48. The forming angle iron is adjustable along the inclined surface bar so as to be adaptable to tubular bumpers of various sizes. The purpose of the forming angle iron is to engage the carton blank side flap 14 at score line 14d as the panel 14d is being pushed further downwardly by a roll-over cam 62 during the formation of the tubular bumpers. The forming iron 59 extends longitudinally along the first conveyor from a point before the beginning of the roll-over cam 62 to a point before the beginning of the second roll-over cam 64.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 3A, 4, 5 and 6, the roll-over

cams

62, 64 and 66 are sequentially positioned on the first conveyor after the terminal point of the curved plough 60. Since each of the roll-over earns 62, 64 and 66 is the same, only the first cam 62 will be described in detail. Roll-over cam 62 includes a camming surface 76 which is substantially L-shaped with a bump 78 formed at the junction of the legs of the L and a ridge 80 formed at the outer extremity of the short leg of the L. The camming surface 76 is for bending the side flaps 14 of the carton blank over the forming bar 48 to form the tubular bumpers. Only the bump 78 and the ridge 80 of the camming surface 76 engage the carton blank side flap as the carton progresses forwardly along the first conveyor. Consequently, there is only line contact between the camming surface 76 and the side flap 14. As the cam 62 rotates through a predetermined number of degrees and the carton blank progresses forwardly, the line contact between the cam and the side flap generates an imaginary spiral on the side flap. Since there is only line contact between the roll-over cam and the side flap, there is only a small amount of friction between them. And since the roll-over

cams

64 and 66 have the same line contact with side flap 14 as does roll-over cam 62, the amount of friction involved in erecting the tubular bumpers of the carton blank is relatively small in relation to the amount of friction produced by the use of funnels and the like in the bumper forming operation. The reduced friction permits the operation to proceed at a relatively high speed.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 14, the roll-over cams camming surface 76 is adjustably bracketed to a rotatable shaft 82 which is rotatably supported in bracket 84. The bracket is supported in sleeve 86 which is mounted on the split table's outer portion 20b. A lever 88, one end of which is joumaled onto the rotatable shaft 82, has its other end attached to a reciprocating shaft 90 which is slidably disposed in housing 92 which is stationarily mounted on the split table's outer portion 208. The reciprocating shaft 90 and the lever 88 are pivotally connected by any suitable means. In the preferred embodiment a gusset 91 is attached to the reciprocating shaft 90. A bracket 93 which is attached to the inclined surface of the gusset has slot 95 for slidably engaging a pin attached to the extremity of the lever 88. The reciprocating shaft 90 extends vertically downwardly through the split tables outer portion. A roller at the end of the reciprocating shaft is for engaging a cam 94 which is mounted on a driven axle 96. The gear box 28 transmits rotational movement from the power axle 26 to the driven axle 40, thereby imparting rotary movement to the cam 94. Accordingly, the formation of the tubular bumpers by the roll-over earns is synchronized with the movement of the carbon blank along the first conveyor.

Cams 98 and 100 which are associated with roll-over earns 64 and 66 respectively are also joumaled onto driven axle 96 so that when the action of the first roll-over cam 62 on the side wall 14 of the carton blank is completed, the action of the second roll-over cam 64 on the side wall 14 of the carton blank is beginning.

An important feature of this invention is the adjustability feature of the roll-over cams. The camming surface of rollover cam 62 is adjustably supported on rotatable shaft 82 so that it can be moved inwardly or outwardly with respect to the center of split table 20. The bracket 84 which supports the rotatable shaft 82 is vertically adjustable in supporting sleeve 86. Furthermore, the supporting sleeve is horizontally adjustable on the split table outer portion 20b. Furthermore, the angle of the camming surface 76 is also adjustable by adjusting the vertical position of the gusset 91 on the reciprocating arm 90.

A glue nozzle 102 is located between roll-over

cams

62 and 64 on each side of the machine and supported from above the split table 20 so as to be in wiping contact with the carton blank's bottom wall 11 as it progresses forwardly along the machines erecting section. Glue is stored in a vat supported above the machine with hoses leading to each of the glue nozzles 102. The glue nozzle 102 applies a thin film of a conventional hot melt-slow working glue in two strips onto the bottom wall 11 of the carton blank 10. The purpose of this glue application is to secure the tubular bumpers in place once they have been formed.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 3A and 4, the carton blank's side flap 14 is shown being bent over forming bar 48 at score lines 14b and by the camming surface 76 of roll-over cam 62 while panel 14a of the side flap is supported against lateral movement by guideway 70. The roll over cam 62 is simultaneously bending the side flap 14 over forming angle iron 59 at score line 14d to form

panels

14c and 14d. Only the camming surface bump 78 and ridge 80 of the roll-over cam 62 contact the carton blank side flap 40 in forming bends in the side flap at

scorelines

14c and 14d resulting in only line contact between the roll-over cam 62 and the side flap 14.

As previously indicated, the glue nozzle 102 which is positioned between roll-over

cams

62 and 64 is in wiping contact with the bottom wall 11 of the carton blank. Two strips of glue are deposited by the glue jet on the bottom wall 11 adjacent score line 140. An angle iron 74 is attached to the upper portion of the guideway 70 from before the beginning of the first roll-over cam 62 to just short of the end of the third roll-over cam 66. The angle iron 74 serves to hold down the top wall (panel 14b) of the tubular bumper as it is being formed.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 5, the second roll-over cam 64 is positioned forwardly of the first roll-over cam 62 along the first conveyor. As the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor with a tubular bumper partially erected, the carton blank side flap engages roll-over cam 64 which further bends the side flap 14 about a second forming angle iron 69. The angular rotation of roll-over cam 64 begins where the angular rotation of roll-over cam 62 terminated. The second forming angle iron 69 is also attached to the inwardly facing wall of forming bar 48. The second forming iron 69 extends from the beginning of the second roll-over cam 64 to before the termination of cam 64. As the longitudinally extending forming iron progresses from the front to the rear of cam 64, the forming iron tapers as in dicated by the dotted line in FIG. 5. This taper is necessary because the camming surface 76 of the second roll-over earn 64 forces the panel 14c closer toward panel 14a of the side flap as the angular rotation of the cam increases. It should be noted that, similar to roll-over cam 62, only ridge 80 and bump 78 on camming surface 76 of cam 64 are in contact with the side flap during this phase of the bumper erecting operation so that there is only line contact between the side flap l4 and cam 64. Also, the the rotational axis of shaft 82 for roll-over cam 64 is positioned upwardly and inwardly from the axis of shaft 82 for roll-over earn 62. This is necessary so that the camming surface 76 of cam 64 can force

panels

14c and 14d of flap 14 closer to panel 14a.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the third rollover cam 66 is illustrated. As the carton blank progresses further along the first conveyor, the partially erected tubular bumper is engaged by roll-over cam 66. The rotational axis of shaft 82 of cam 66 is positioned upwardly and inwardly from the position of the rotational axis 82 for the previous cam 64 so that during the angular rotation of the cam, the leading edge of panel 14d of the side flap is moved into a position just short of contact with the inner surface of panel 14a, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Once again, there is only line contact between the camming surface 76 of cam 66 and the carton blank side flap 14.

At the position illustrated in FIG. 6, the third cam 66 has completed its angular rotation but the bottom surface of panel 14d (which will eventually form the bottom wall of the tubular bumper) has not yet been brought into contact with the glue strips on the bottom wall 11 of the carton blank. Also, the inwardly facing wall of the forming bar 48 prevents panel 140 from collapsing as panel 140 is urged parallel to panel 140 by the cam 66. An aperture is provided at the terminal point of the forming bar 48 for the insertion of a pin and lever mechanism 124 for connecting a longitudinally extending weight bar 126 to the forming bar. The function of the weight bar 126 is discussed in detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, a curved plough 120 is adjustably attached by a bracket to a supporting member 122 attached to the split tables outer portion a. Since the supporting member 122 is inclined at an angle of approximately 60, the plough 120 is similarly inclined. Plough 120 is initially flared upwardly and then curved to a level so as to engage the top portion of the newly formed bumper (panel 14b) and hold it securely in place during the transition from the final roll-over cam 66 to the sets of double angle wheels. This function could also be accomplished by extending angle iron 74 from the third roll-over cam 66 to the beginning of the first double angle wheel 130. While the top side of the newly formed bumper is being held in place by the plough 120, the outer lateral side of the newly formed bumper (panel 140) is retained by the adjustable guideway 70. The forming bar 48 which extends from the beginning of the first conveyor is tapered from the end of the roll-over cam 66 to the beginning of the double angle wheels where the forming bar terminates. Accordingly, the forming bar tapers and terminates at the position on the machine where the plough 120 is located.

As previously indicated, an aperture is provided at the terminal point of the forming bar 48 which is adapted for the insertion of a pin and lever 124. The lever 124 is located directly beneath the first double angle wheel 130. The other end of the lever is for connecting to a weight bar 124 which is freely supported on the split table inner portion 20a. As the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor, the forming bar 48 passes through the interior of the newly formed bumper, as does the lever 124 and finally the weight bar 126. The rearward portion of the weight bar 126 is tapered so as to facilitate insertion of the weight bar into the interior of the newly formed tubular bumper. The force provided by the weight bar on the side flap panel 14d which has been bent over by the roll-over cam to from the bottom wall of the tubular bumper, insures that the newly formed bumper will be securely glued in place against the bottom wall 1 l of the carton blank. As previously noted, the efiect of inserting the weight bar into the newly formed tubular bumper is more pronounced when operating with lightweight material. When operating on corrugated material, it is not necessary to use the weight bar to insure proper gluing. The bottom surface of the weight bar may be coated with Teflon to reduce the friction between the bumper and the bar. Also, a series of weighted wheels may be substituted for the weight bar.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, the rearward portion of the machines erecting section is illustrated along with the filling and closing sections of the machine which are described in more detail below. In the rearward portion of the erecting section of the machine, a series of double angle wheels is positioned on each side of the split table 20 directly following the plough 120. As previously mentioned, after the carton blanks tubular bumper 14' is formed by the roll-over cams, the bumper enters the guide formed by plough and adjustable guideway 70, cocked, at an angle of approximately 60 as illustrated in FIG. 6. The tubular bumper is retained at this angle as it enters the guide formed by double angle wheel 130 and adjustable guideway 70 and angle iron 146. As illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 7, the double angle wheel 130 exerts both lateral and downward pressure on the newly formed tubular bumper 14'. The rearward portion 132 of the double angle wheel 130 exerts downward pressure on the top side of the newly formed bumper (panel 14a), while the outer portion 134 of the double angle wheel exerts lateral pressure on the side of the newly formed tubular bumper (panel The adjustable guideway 70 retains the other side wall of the tubular bumper (panel 14a) as the double angle wheel 130 applies its lateral pressure on the bumper. The dual action of the double angle wheel 130 is extremely important in that it insures that the edge of the outermost portion of the side flap 14 (panel 14d, which forms the bottom wall of the tubular bumper) is almost in contact with the lowermost portion of the side flap 14 (panel 14a, which forms the outer side all of the tubular bumper). As illustrated in FIG. 7, the downward pressure applied by the inner portion 132 of the first double angle wheel 130 forces side flap panel 14d into engagement with the glued portion of the bottom wall 11 of the carton blank. By the simultaneous application of downward and lateral pressure by the double angle wheel 130, the cross-section of the newly formed bumper 14' assumes the shape of a rhomboid with the side flap panel 14d almost in contact with side flap panel 14a. It is crucial for these two side flap panels to be contiguous if a truly rectangular bumper is to be formed when the bumper is righted from its cocked position.

As previously indicated in the prior art methods of forming tubular bumpers, the edge of the outermost portion of the side flap (panel 14d) did not abut the lowermost portion (panel 140), as indicated in FIG. 16. Because of the unpredictability of the dimension of the gap 14f between

panels

14a and 14d, it was necessary to over-dimension the carton blank to insure that it would accommodate the article 9 to be packaged. FIG. 16 illustrates that the gap 14f could extend from panel 140 to anywhere between the dotted line portrayal of the edge of panel 14d to the solid line edge of panel 14d depending on where panel 14d is glued to the bottom wall 11 of the carton blank. The necessity to over-dimension the carton blank results in the article being loosely packaged in the carton, thereby increasing the probability of damage during transit.

However, the tubular bumpers formed according to this invention are truly square or truly rectangular (depending upon the size of the bumpers) so that there is no uncertainty as to the final dimension of the carton blank. Accordingly, the article 9 is tightly packaged in the carton and there is greater assurance against possible damage during transit. Furthermore, bumpers formed according to this invention result in a more efficient use of the carton blank material with resultant greater economy.

Double angle wheels

133 and 135 are sequentially positioned on the first conveyor forward from double angle wheel 130. Since the

double angle wheels

130, 133 and 135 are the same, only double angle wheel 135 will be described in detail.

Referring now to FIG. 15, double angle wheel 135 includes a rearward camming surface 132 and a forward camming surface 134. Both of the camming surfaces of the double angle wheel are inclined toward each other so as to form an angle of approximately ll between them. A groove is formed in the double angle wheel 135 at the junction of the two inclined camming surfaces. The double angle wheel 135 is mounted on a shaft 136 which is mounted in a collar 138. The collar is integral with a lever 140 which is pivotally mounted on a shaft 142. The shaft is mounted in the sleeve portion of a bracket 144 which is mounted on a support member 146 which is attached to the split tables outer portion 20b. The support member is horizontally adjustable toward and away from the center of the split table. The bracket 144 is vertically movable so as to make the double angle wheel adaptable to tubular bumpers of varying heights. Furthermore, the angle of the double angle wheell35 can be adjusted by rotating the lever 140 to the desired. angle and securing it to the arcuately slotted member 148 by any appropriate means.

Referring back to FIG. 7, it is seen that double angle wheel 130 is declined at an angle of approximately 20 with the horizontal. In this position, the newly formed tubular bumper 14' forms a rhomboid which is cocked at an angle of approximately thirty degrees with the vertical. As the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor and the newly formed bumper 14' comes into engagement with the second double angle wheel 133, both the second and third double angle wheels 133 and 135 (as illustrated in FIG. 8 for wheel 135) are declined at an angle of approximately 40 with the horizontal or 20 more than the first wheel 130 is declined. The result is that the newly formed bumper 14' is forced to a more vertical position. Accordingly, as illustratedin FIG. 8, the newly formed bumper 14' is forced to a position whereby it is cocked at an angle of 10 with the vertical by engaging

double angle wheels

133 and 135. The guideway 70 is gradually curved so that beginning at the second double angle wheel, 133, it is inclined at an angle of approximately 80 with the horizontal.

During the entire operation when lateral and downward pressure is being applied to the newly formed tubular bumper 14 by the

double angle wheels

130, 133 and 135, the side flap panel 14d is simultaneously held against side flap panel 14a and pressed against the glued surface of the bottom wall 11 of the carton blank to insure that a truly rectangular bumper is formed.

Referring now to FIGS. 18 and 9, as the carton blank moves forwardly along the first conveyor past the third double angle wheel 135, the tubular bumpers encounter

flat roller units

152 and 154. Since the

roller units

152 and 154 are the same, only roller unit 152 will be described. Roller unit 152 consists of a cylindrical roller 156 mounted on a shaft which is secured to a bracket 158 that is attached to a support member 160 mounted on the split tables outer portion 20b. The roller 156 is inclined at an angle of approximately 15 so that lateral pressure is applied to the newly formed tubular bumper, causing it to retain the rhomboid shape. As with the roll-over cams and the double angle wheels and the other devices of this machine, the flat roller unit 152 is adjustable. The support member 160 is horizontally adjustable to adapt to the varying widths of carton blanks and the bracket 158 is vertically adjustable to adapt to the varying heights of carton blank tubular bumpers.

The tubular bumper is retained in its rhomboid shape so that the bumper does not interfere with the insertion of the article to be packaged into the carton, as described in more detail below. The retention of the bumpers in a spread position is necessary because of the tight fit between the article and the inner walls of the bumper after the article is packaged. The tight fit prevents the article from slipping or sliding in the carton, thereby providing greater protection for the article.

Referring now to FIGS. 18 and 1 l, a device is illustrated for automatically breaking the scoreline which is formed in the forward and rearward end flaps of carton blanks having a patented bellows arrangement 162 described in U. S. Pat. No. 3,386,641. It is necessary to insure that when the forward and rearward end flaps of the carton blank are raised from their horizontal position to a vertical position that the bellows arrangement 162 connecting the end flap 12 and the side wall of the newly formed tubular bumper 14 is bent inwardly towards the article, rather than outwardly. This is automatically accomplished by the device illustrated in FIG. 11 as the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor. A driver gear 164 is joumaled onto driven axle 96. Driver gear 164 is in operative engagement with driven gear 166, which is operatively attached to twin cams 168a and l68b. Each of the cams 168a and 168b has a camming surface 170a and 170b, respectively, which engages a roller attached to a vertically extending pusher 172. An inclined surface 174 is formed at the top of the pusher for engaging the bottom surface of the forward and rearward end flaps -12 of the carton blank. The distance between the camming surfaces 170a and 170k is set so that the pusher 172 moves vertically upwardly as the forward and rearward end flaps of the carton blank pass above it. Accordingly, the vertical movement of the pusher 172 is synchronized with the movement of the carton blank along the first conveyor. By using twin cams 168, the distance between camming surfaces 170a and 170b can be adjusted to accommodate carton blanks having varying lengths and to accommodate single blank or double blank cartons. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the pusher 172 is located beneath the split tables inner portion 20a and between

double angle wheels

133 and 135.

b. Filling Section As a result of the double angle wheels and the roller units holding the carton blank tubular bumper spread outwardly, the carton blank is in position to enter into the filling section of the machine.

In the filling section of the machine, the article 9 to be packaged is inserted into the carton blank 10. The article 9 may consist of a book, a record, a tape cartridge, a cassette or other similar items. It is important during the filling operation that the article to be packaged is correctly positioned on the carton blank, i.e., the article must be positioned centrally of the newly formed tubular bumpers 14 and centrally of the forward and rearward end flaps 12 of the carton blank.

Referring now to D108. 13, 10 and 13, a hopper 200 filled with articles 9 to be packaged is positioned above the first conveyor forward of the

roller units

152 and 154. The articles 9 are fed into the hopper 200 either manually or by machine from the right, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 13. The width of the hopper 200 at its base 2001; (see FIG. 10) approximately corresponds to the inner width of the carton blank 10 being operated on by the machine, i.e., the distance between score lines 14a on each side of the carton blank 10. The lateral sides of hopper base 20% taper at an angle of approximately 15 to facilitate engagement of the inner surface of the inner wall (panel 14) of the newly formed bumper 14' which has been retained in an angular position by the

roller units

152 and 154. In this way, the newly formed bumpers are held spread apart during the insertion of the article 9 into the carton blank. A guideway 14.5 for supporting the outer lateral wall of the newly formed tubular bumper 14' (panel 14b) as the carton blank is pushed beneath the hopper 200 is itself supported by a bracket 147 attached to the lateral wall of the hopper 200.

As previously indicated, the flight 34, which is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 13, is composed of a lower section 34a and an upper section 34b. While the flights lower section 34a cooperates with the lower part of the upper section 34d to push the carton blank forwardly, the upper part of the flights upper section 34b extends forwardly from its lower part to engage the article 9 to be packaged and to push it outwardly from hopper 200. The horizontal distance between the upper and lower engaging surfaces of the flights upper section 34b is approximately equivalent to the length of the carton blanks rearward edge 12. Thus, the flight 34 does not begin pushing the article 9 out of the hopper 200 until the article is positioned directly over the carton blank 10. In this way, the article is correctly positioned and is not pushed onto the forward or rearward end flaps 12 of the carton blank.

In operation, the flight 34 progresses forwardly with dual power chains 22 and pushes the carton blank by engaging its rearward edge 12. After passing through the bumper erecting operation, the flight 34 approaches hopper 200. The upper part of the flights upper section 34B engages an article 9 and progressively pushes it outwardly from the hopper 200 onto the carton blank 10. As the article 9 is being pushed outwardly from the hopper, the following article 9' to be packaged assumes the position of its predecessor in the hopper 200. During this operation, the newly formed bumpers 14' are held apart by the lateral sides of the hopper base 200b.

c. Closing Section The filled carton blank 10 is now ready for closing. Referring to FIGS. 18 and 13, a mechanism for automatically closing the cover of a single blank carton is positioned forwardly of the hopper 200 on the first conveyor. The closing mechanism consists of a cylindrical roller 204 which is rotatably mounted on a shaft which is connected to a rotating lever 206. The rotary motion of the rotating lever 206 is synchronized with the forward motion of the carton blank 10 along the first conveyor so that as the carton blank is exiting from the hopper 200, the lever 206 is in position for the roller bar 204 to engage the cover 13 of the single blank carton and raise it upwardly. As the carton blank progresses forwardly, the cover 13 is raised further upwardly by the roller bar 204 until the cover 13 is in a substantially vertical position. At this point, the top portion of the carton blank cover 13 engages a stationary roller 208. The forward motion of the carton blank 10 causes the cover 13 to be pushed downwardly by the stationary roller 208.

As illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 13, a second conveyor 2 is positioned perpendicular to the first conveyor 1. As the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor and its top cover is pushed downwardly over the contents of the carton by stationary roller 208, the carton blank approaches the second conveyor 2. A curved plough 210 which is positioned on the second conveyor engages the cover 13 of the carton blank and forces it further downwardly.

As previously indicated, at the end of the first conveyor, the rail 38 positioned under the first conveyor slopes downwardly so that the flight 34 which is pushing the carton blank forwardly along the first conveyor collapses backwardly and downwardly thereby disengaging itself from the carton blanks rearward end flap 12. At the point that flight 34 is disengaged from the carton blanks rearward end flap 34, the filled carton is positioned on the second conveyor.

A pair of glue nozzles 212 are each positioned on a side of the split table 20, rearwardly of the stationary roller 208. Each glue nozzle is positioned on the split table 20 so as to be in wiping contact with the outer lateral side of the newly formed tubular bumpers 14'. As the carton blank progresses forwardly along the first conveyor past each of the glue nozzles 212, the side flap 15 of the cover 13 engages a plough 214 which curves from a horizontal position to a vertical position thereby forcing the cover side flap 15 against the outer lateral side of the newly formed tubular bumper 14'. At the same time that the carton blank is progressing past the plough 214, the carton blank cover 13 is engaging the curved plough 210 which is forcing the cover further downwardly.

The carton blank progresses further along the first conveyor until the flight 24 collapses backwardly and the filled carton is positioned on the second conveyor. At this point, the forward end 12 of the filled carton is engaged by a stop plate 216. Similar to the first conveyor, the second conveyor is formed of a split table 218 and has a dual power chain 220 between the split table. The dual power chain 220 is connected by a right angle drive to the driven axle 96. Accordingly, the movement of the dual power chain 22 in the first conveyor is synchronous with the movement of the dual power chain 220 in the second conveyor. A flight 224 which is supported by the dual power chain is for engaging the outer lateral wall of the newly formed bumper 14' (panel and pushing the carton blank forwardly on the second conveyor. The flight 224 is essentially L- shaped. An angle cam 226 is connected to the flight 224 and rides on a rail 228 so that the flight collapses backwardly when the angle cam runs off the rail. This occurs at the end of the second conveyor in the same manner that angle cam 36 runs off the rail 38 in the first conveyor. Alternatively, the flight 224 may directly engage the rail 228 itself.

As the flight 224 pushes the filled carton forwardly along the second conveyor, the rearward end flap 12 of the carton engages a plough 230 which curves from a horizontal position to a vertical position thereby forcing the rearward end flap of the carton upwardly. A glue nozzle 232 is positioned forwardly of the plough 230 so as to be in wiping contact with the outer surface of the newly raised rearward end flap 12. Another curved plough 234 positioned forwardly of the glue nozzle 232 curves from a horizontal position to a vertical position and engages the rearward end flap 17 of the cover 13 thereby forcing it downwardly into contact with the glued rearward end of the carton. At this point, the carton is completely closed. A weight bar with rollers 236 is positioned above the second conveyor so that as the filled carton progresses forwardly along the conveyor the weight bar with rollers 236 presses on the carton blank cover 13 to hold it securely in place. The closed and glued single blank carton is then conveyed for shipment.

II. ALTERNATE EMBODIMENT a. Erecting Section Referring to FIG. 1A, the front portion of the erecting section of the machine for erecting and packaging a double blank carton is illustrated. As previously indicated, the erecting section of the machine for the couble blank carton and the machine for the single blank carton is exactly the same with the sole difference that there is less spacing between the flights 34 in the double blank carton machine than in the single blank carton machine. This results from the increased length of the single blank carton due to its integral cover. The remainder of the machines erecting section is illustrated in FIG. 1C.

b. Filling Section Referring now to FIG. 1C, it is seen that the filling section of the machine is also exactly the same as the filling section of the machine for the single blank carton described above.

c. Closing Section Referring again to FIG. 1C, it is seen that the remainder of the first conveyor 1' is the same as the first conveyor described in the preferred embodiment above with the exception that there are no glue nozzles positioned on either side of the first conveyor nor are there any ploughs positioned on either side of the conveyor or atop the second conveyor 2.

In view of the similarities between the preferred embodiment and this alternate embodiment, those features of the alternate embodiment of this invention designated by primed numerals respond to the same description as and are the same as those features in the preferred embodiment designated by corresponding numerals.

Accordingly, when the filled double blank carton emerges from the hopper 200, the flight 34 conveys the carton along the first conveyor until the carton blank is positioned on the second conveyor 2' which is positioned perpendicular to the first conveyor 1'. The second conveyor 2' consists of a split table (not shown) having a dual power chain 220'. The filled double blank carton is pushed forwardly along the second conveyor by a series of L-shaped flights 224. The movement of the second conveyor is continuous since it is connected to the first conveyor by a right angle drive. As the filled carton blank is pushed forwardly along the second conveyor, the forward and rearward edges 12' of the double blank carton'each engage a plough 240 positioned on each side of the split table. Each plough 240 is curved from a horizontal position to a vertical position so as to force the rearward and forward edges 12' of the double blank carton upwardly. A glue nozzle 242 is positioned on each side of the second conveyor forwardly of the plough 240. The glue nozzles 242 are positioned on the split table so as to be in wiping contact with the outer surfaces of the newly raised forward and rearward edges 12 of the carton blank. The filled carton blank progressesforwardly along the second conveyor until it is positioned directly beneath the carton closing cage 244. The exact positioning of the carton is accomplished by having the angle cams 226' of the flights 224' run off the rail 228' at the point where the filled carton is positioned directly beneath the cage (as seen in FIG. 13 for the single blank carton machine).

As illustrated in FIG. 1C, a stack of carton tops 19 is positioned in a hopper or other suitable dispenser directly in line with the carton closing cage 244. The movement of a carton top 19 to a position directly over the filled carton blank is provided by drive chains 248 which are connected by a right angle drive or similar device to the drive chains 220' in the second conveyor.

Each of the carton tops 19 in FIG. 1C is pulled out from the bottom of the hopper (not shown) holding the stack of carton tops by a conventional suction puller composed of a timed vacuum pump with suction cups. The actuation of the vacuum pump is timed to synchronize with the movement of a filled carton into the carton closing cage 244. The suction cups engage the bottom surface of a carton top 19, pull it down from the hopper and deposit it on a horizontal table from which it is pushed forwardly to the carton stacking cage 244 by a flight attached to the drive chains 248. As the carton top 19 progresses forwardly along the drive chains 248, glue nozzle 250 positioned on either side of the drive chains deposits strips of glue on the bottom surface of the carton top end flaps 21. The flight which pushes the carton top into the carton closing cage 244 is the same as and operates similarly to flight 224 in the second conveyor. The movement of the filled carton blank and the carton top 19 is synchronized so that the top and blank are positioned beneath the carton stacking cage at approximately the same time.

The filled carton blank is now ready for closing. Cartons in various stages of closing in the carton stacking cage are illustrated in FIG. 1C. A piston pusher 252 or other mechanical device positioned beneath the carton stacking cage 244 is actuated when the filled carton blank and the carton top are in position inthe carton closing cage 244. This can be accomplished by a set of microswitches or by other suitable means. The pusher 252 engages the bottom surface of the carton blank and pushes the filled carton upwardly so as to engage the carton top 19. As the filled carton blank rises, the carton tops end flaps 21 engage the curved closing ploughs 254 which bend the end flaps into engagement with the sides of the cartons mbular bumpers.

The piston pusher 252 pushes the closed carton upwardly until it passes a series of camming elements (not shown) which are pivotally mounted on the inner sides of the curved closing ploughs 254. Once the carton has been pushed past the cams, the cams pivot outwardly to hold the cartons in the carton closing cage.

Heretofore, it was necessary to slightly angle the closing plough 254 so that the perimeter of the carton stacking cage 244 tapered slightly from the bottom to the top. The reason for this can be readily understood by referring to FIG. 16 in which a prior art pre-glued bumper is illustrated. Because of the gap 7 between the article 9 and the side flap panel 14c,

when lateral pressure is applied to the bumper by the closing ploughs 254, the bumper tended to shift toward the article 9 and close the gap 7. In order to insure that the cover flap was securely glued to the carton bumper, it was necessary to taper the closing cage upwardly to accommodate for the gap between the article and the bumper. However, since there is no gap between the article and the bumper formed according to this invention, it is not necessary to inwardly taper the closing cage 244. Accordingly, it is only necessary to set the height of the carton closing cage 244 so that the packaged and glued cartons remain in the cage a sufficient amount of time to permit the glue to dry and set.

While embodiments of various aspects of the invention have been shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, and means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward pressure to the top wall of the folded side flap and lateral pressure to the inner side wall of the folded side flap, said means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure including an integral roller having oppositely disposed inclined surfaces.

2. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; said folding means comprising a plurality of camming members sequentially positioned along said first conveyor, each of said camming members having an axis about which each of said camming members is supported for angular rotation through a predetermined number of degrees.

3. The combination recited in claim 2 wherein each of said axes following the first of said axes is positioned vertically upwardly and horizontally closer to the carton blank side flap than the axis preceding each of said axes so that the angular rotation of each of said axes is initiated where the angular rotation of the preceding axis terminated.

4. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; said folding means comprising a generally L-shaped cam having a bump formed at the junction of the L and a ridge formed at the extremity of the short leg of the L, said bump and ridge being for engaging the carton blank side flap.

5. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to I be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transportingthe carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; means for adjusting the horizontal, vertical and angular positions of said folding means comprising a vertically extending sleeve mounted atop said first conveyor, said first conveyor being horizontally adjustable, said first support means being disposed in said sleeve so as to be vertically adjustable, a reciprocating shaft extending through said first conveyor, a gusset attached to said shaft and means attached to said gusset and to said folding means for translating the reciprocating movement of said shaftinto angular rotation of said folding means, said gusset being vertically adjustable on said shaft so as to control the angle through which said folding means rotate.

6. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said means for simultaneously applying lateral and downward pressure to the folded side flap comprise a first frusto-conical member being rotatably supported on said second support means, the inclined surface of said frusto-conical member being positioned to engage a lateral side of the folded side flap, and a second frusto-conical member being rotatably supported on said second support means, the inclined surface of said second frusto-conical member being positioned to engage the top side of the folded side flap.

7. The combination recited in claim 6 wherein the vertices of said first and second frusto-conical members are connected.

8. The combination recited in claim 6 further comprising a plurality of said first and second frusto-conical members sequentially positioned along said first conveyor.

9. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; said means for simultaneously applying lateral and downward pressure to the folded side flap comprising a first frusto-conical member being rotatably supported on said second support means, the inclined surface of said frusto-conical member being positioned to engage a lateral side of the folded side flap, and a second frusto-conical member being rotatably supported on said second support means, the inclined surface of said second frusto-conical member being positioned to engage the top side of the folded side flap; and means for adjusting the horizontal,

vertical and angular position of said first and second frustoconical members.

10. The combination recited in claim 9 wherein said adjusting' means comprise a bracket mounted atop said first conveyor, said first conveyor being horizontally adjustable, said second support means being attached to said bracket so as to be vertically adjustable, a collar member being rotatably mounted on said second support means, an arcuately slotted member being attached to said second support means, said collar being adjustably attached to said slotted member so as to control the angular position of said collar, and a shaft connecting the radial axis of said first and second frusto-conical members, said shaft disposed within said collar member.

11. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the-article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap, comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second supportmeans for simultaneously applying downward and'lateral pressure to the folded side flap; and means positioned within the folded side flap for applying downward pressure on the bottom side of the folded side flap and the bottom wall of the carton blank.

12. The combination recited in claim 11 wherein said downward pressure applying means comprise a weighted bar being disposed within the folded side flap and adapted for sliding engagement with the bottom side of the folded side flap.

13. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means-for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap, said carton transporting and article inserting and positioning means comprises a flight having an upper and a lower portion, said flight being pivotally attached to said first conveyor, said flight upper portion extending outwardly from said flight lower portion and being adapted for engaging the article to be packaged and inserting the article into the carton blank inwardly from the forward and rearward edges of the carton blank, said flight lower portion being'adapted for engaging the rearward edge of a carton blank and transporting the carton blank along said first conveyor.

14. The combination recited in claim 13 wherein the distance between said upper portion surface adapted to engage the article to be packaged and the lower portion surface adapted to engage the carton blank rearward edge is approximately equivalent to the length of the rearward edge.

15. The combination recited in claim 13 further comprising means for disengaging said flight from the carton blank rearward edge at the extremity of said first conveyor.

16. The combination recited in claim 15 wherein said disen-v gaging means comprise a rail extending beneath said first conveyor, said rail sloping downwardly at the extremity of said first conveyor, said flight being supported in an upright position by said rail and adapted to collapse backwardly at the extremity of said first conveyor.

17. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap, said means for inserting the article to be packaged into the carton blank comprises a hopper for stacking the articles to be packaged and adapted to discharge a single article through its base, said hopper being positioned along said first conveyor forwardly of said tubular bumper forming means, said hopper base being tapered downwardly so that the lateral sides of said hopper base engage and retain the newly fonned carton blank bumpers spread apart to facilitate insertion of the article to be packaged into the carton blank.

18. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be'packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from carton blank side flap; means for closing the double carton blank comprising a cage formed by a plurality of vertically extending bars arranged to correspond to the approximate cross-sectionalarea of the car ton blank, a second conveyor positioned perpendicular to said first conveyor for conveying the carton blank to said cage, a third conveyor positioned perpendicular to said second conveyor for transporting the carton blank cover to said cage, and means positioned beneath said cage for engaging the underside of the bottom wall of the carton blank and pushing the carton blank upwardly into engagement with the carton blank cover.

19. The combination recited in claim 18 wherein said folding means further comprise a forming bar extending longitudinally along said first conveyor and adapted for supporting the carton blank side flap during bending by said camming members, said forming bar being in theshape of an inverted L, and means for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of said bar.

20. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; means for supporting the carton blank side flap during engagement by said foldi ng means and said means for simultaneously applying downward pressure to the folded side flap comprising a guideway extending longitudinally along said first conveyor and adapted to support the outer lateral wall of the side flap during formation of the tubular bumpers and means for adjusting the vertical position of said guideway.

21. Apparatus for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from the side flap of a carton blank comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor; a forming bar positioned along said first conveyor; a plurality of camming members adapted for engaging the carton blank side flap and folding it over said forming bar so that the outermost portion of said carton blank side flap is contiguous with the innermost portion of said side flap; means positioned rearwardly of said camming members for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap and means positioned within the folded side flap for applying downward pressure on the bottom side of the folded side flap and the bottom wall of the carton blank.

22. Apparatus for formrng a tubular bumper. having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from the side flap of a carton blank comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said first conveyor; means for folding the carton blank side flap into a bumper substantially square or rectangular in cross-section, and a plurality of rotatable members positioned along said first conveyor forwardly of said folding means, each of said rotatable members comprising an integral roller having first and second frustoconical surfaces, the vertices of said first and second surfaces being contiguous, said first surface applying lateral pressure to the inner side wall of the folded side flap and said second surface applying downward pressure to the top wall of the folded side flap.

23. Apparatus for transporting a carton blank having a rearward edge from a first to a second position and for inserting and positioning an article to be packaged into the carton blank, comprising a first conveyor, a flight attached to said conveyor having upper and lower portions, said flight lower portion being adapted for engaging the carton blank rearward edge and transporting the canon blank along said first conveyor, said flight upper portion extending outwardly from said flight lower portion and adapted for engaging the article to be packaged and positioning it in the carton blank forwardly of the carton blank rearward edge.

24. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward flaps, side flaps and a side flap extension, which are attached to the forward and rearward flaps of the carton blank and which have bisecting score lines, comprising: a first conveyor, means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor, and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank, means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross section from a carton blank side flap and means for engaging the forward and rearward carton blank edges and breaking the score line of the side flap extension so that the extension folds inwardly toward the interior of the carton blank.

25. The combination recited in claim 32 wherein said engaging and breaking means comprise a camming member positioned beneath said first conveyor, a shaft in operative engagement with said camming member, said shaft being slidably disposed in a slot in said first conveyor and adapted for engaging the underside of the carton blank forward and rearward flaps.

Claims

5. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conVeyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; means for adjusting the horizontal, vertical and angular positions of said folding means comprising a vertically extending sleeve mounted atop said first conveyor, said first conveyor being horizontally adjustable, said first support means being disposed in said sleeve so as to be vertically adjustable, a reciprocating shaft extending through said first conveyor, a gusset attached to said shaft and means attached to said gusset and to said folding means for translating the reciprocating movement of said shaft into angular rotation of said folding means, said gusset being vertically adjustable on said shaft so as to control the angle through which said folding means rotate.

9. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; said means for simultaneously applying lateral and downward pressure to the folded side flap comprising a first frusto-conical member being rotatably supported on said second support means, the inclined surface of said frusto-conical member being positioned to engage a lateral side of the folded side flap, and a second frusto-conical member being rotatably supported on said second support means, the inclined surface of said second frusto-conical member being positioned to engage the top side of the folded side flap; and means for adjusting the horizontal, vertical and angular position of said first and second frusto-conical members.

10. The combination recited in claim 9 wherein said adjusting means comprise a bracket mounted atop said first conveyor, said first conveyor being horizontally adjustable, said second support means being attached to said bracket so as to be vertically adjustable, a collar member being rotatably mounted on said second support means, an arcuately slotted member being attached to said second support means, said collar being adjustably attached to said slotted member so as to control the angular position of said collar, And a shaft connecting the radial axis of said first and second frusto-conical members, said shaft disposed within said collar member.

11. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap, comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; and means positioned within the folded side flap for applying downward pressure on the bottom side of the folded side flap and the bottom wall of the carton blank.

13. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap, said carton transporting and article inserting and positioning means comprises a flight having an upper and a lower portion, said flight being pivotally attached to said first conveyor, said flight upper portion extending outwardly from said flight lower portion and being adapted for engaging the article to be packaged and inserting the article into the carton blank inwardly from the forward and rearward edges of the carton blank, said flight lower portion being adapted for engaging the rearward edge of a carton blank and transporting the carton blank along said first conveyor.

16. The combination recited in claim 15 wherein said disengaging means comprise a rail extending beneath said first conveyor, said rail sloping downwardly at the extremity of said first conveyor, said flight being supported in an upright position by said rail and adapted to collapse backwardly at the extremity of said first conveyor.

17. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap, said means for inserting the article to be packaged into the carton blank comprises a hopper for stacking the articles to be packaged and adapted to discharge a single article through its base, said hopper being positioned along said first conveyor forwardly of said tubular bumper forming means, said hopper base being tapered downwardly so that the lateral sides of said hopper base engage and retain the newly formed carton blank bumpers spread apart to facilitate insertion of the article to be packaged into the carton blank.

18. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from carton blank side flap; means for closing the double carton blank comprising a cage formed by a plurality of vertically extending bars arranged to correspond to the approximate cross-sectional area of the carton blank, a second conveyor positioned perpendicular to said first conveyor for conveying the carton blank to said cage, a third conveyor positioned perpendicular to said second conveyor for transporting the carton blank cover to said cage, and means positioned beneath said cage for engaging the underside of the bottom wall of the carton blank and pushing the carton blank upwardly into engagement with the carton blank cover.

19. The combination recited in claim 18 wherein said folding means further comprise a forming bar extending longitudinally along said first conveyor and adapted for supporting the carton blank side flap during bending by said camming members, said forming bar being in the shape of an inverted L, and means for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of said bar.

20. An automatic carton erecting and packaging machine for use with an unerected carton blank into which an article is to be packaged, the carton blank having a bottom wall, forward and rearward edges, side flaps and a separate or integral cover, comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said conveyor and for inserting and positioning the article to be packaged into the carton blank; and means for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from a carton blank side flap comprising first support means, means rotatably mounted on said first support means for folding the carton blank side flap, second support means, means rotatably mounted on said second support means for simultaneously applying downward and lateral pressure to the folded side flap; means for supporting the carton blank side flap during engagement by said folding means and said means for simultaneously applying downward pressure to the folded side flap comprising a guideway extending longitudinally along said first conveyor and adapted to support the outer lateral wall of the side flap during formation of the tubular bumpers and means for adjusting the vertical position of said guideway.

22. Apparatus for forming a tubular bumper having a truly square or truly rectangular cross-section from thE side flap of a carton blank comprising: a first conveyor; means for transporting the carton blank along said first conveyor; means for folding the carton blank side flap into a bumper substantially square or rectangular in cross-section, and a plurality of rotatable members positioned along said first conveyor forwardly of said folding means, each of said rotatable members comprising an integral roller having first and second frusto-conical surfaces, the vertices of said first and second surfaces being contiguous, said first surface applying lateral pressure to the inner side wall of the folded side flap and said second surface applying downward pressure to the top wall of the folded side flap.

23. Apparatus for transporting a carton blank having a rearward edge from a first to a second position and for inserting and positioning an article to be packaged into the carton blank, comprising a first conveyor, a flight attached to said conveyor having upper and lower portions, said flight lower portion being adapted for engaging the carton blank rearward edge and transporting the carton blank along said first conveyor, said flight upper portion extending outwardly from said flight lower portion and adapted for engaging the article to be packaged and positioning it in the carton blank forwardly of the carton blank rearward edge.