An apparatus for automatically closing the end panels or flaps of cartons or carriers of the type which are in the form of a tube disposed over an assembly of bottles or the like, specifically, bottom loaded beverage bottle carriers or cartons, in which there is a conveyor means for advancing the carton and bottle assemblies along a path between oppositely disposed runs of horizontally disposed, traveling conveyors having panel engaging fingers which co-operate with associated plow members in closing the top end panels and in holding the same in properly aligned and closed position while overlapped margins are locked together by interengaging latching and locking elements thereon, together with fixed plow type members disposed along the path of advance of the assemblies for closing bottom wall forming panels and interengaging latching and locking elements on these panels so as to lock the same in bottom wall forming position.
There is provided a paperboard wrap and a tightening section for a paperboard wrapping apparatus for applying a paperboard wrap around a plurality of articles, said tightening section comprising an endless drive member having at least one straight line section and having a series of engaging members which project outwardly from the drive member, the engaging members each having a substantially straight edge such that the edges of the engaging members form a substantially straight combined edge along the straight line section, which combined edge remains substantially parallel to the path of articles as the engaging members pass through the tightening section and to the path of the drive member along its straight line section.
This relates to providing internal compression in packages of the type utilizing a wrap around carton. Instead of utilizing locking cut outs provided for receiving articles to be packaged, special compression cuts are formed in the closure panels of a wrap around carton so that the compression cuts are independent of the locking cut outs thereby permitting one chain and lug arrangement to be utilized in conjunction with numerous types of packages. The lugs are carried by compression chains located in a plane below the support plane of the articles to be packaged with the lugs being pivotally mounted on pins and normally having downwardly sloping positions for engaging in the compression cuts when the closure flaps are in their generally vertical depending position. The lugs are swingable upwardly to generally horizontal positions with the closure panels. Each lug carries a finger having a nose particularly configurated for automatically entering and centering within a compression cut.
