A process and apparatus for opening the sealing flaps of a carton using drive elements for spreading or folding such sealing flaps open as required for packaging cartons having sealed bottoms. The boxes are inverted and lowered from a floating position with the bottom up and the sealing flaps hanging down. The flaps are placed on drive elements which move away from each other and in the flap opening direction. The box is then moved to a packaging area in the inverted position and lowered over the materials to be packaged.
A cardboard carton is constructed that is particularly useful for holding a stack of paper so that individual cut sheets from the stack may be readily removed. The carton bottom has an open top and substantially open ends and closed sides, while the carton top has a Z-fold top panel, and one or more tear strips between adhesive connecting the carton top to the carton bottom and the main part of the carton top. The carton bottom, with its open top facing downwardly, is either moved over a stack of paper, or formed over the stack of paper. Then it is rotated 180.degree. about a horizontal axis (as by pivoting a U-shaped continuous conveyor about a horizontal axis), and conveyed to a station where it is moved with respect to a carton top so that the open bottom of the carton top goes over the carton bottom, and then is glued in place. Two opposite flaps on the carton lid may be glued to the bottom surface of the carton bottom panel to provide a lifting space beneath the carton. The side and end flaps of the carton bottom may be connected to the bottom panel by perforations to allow ready detachment.
A machine for releasing a bale, particularly a bale of tobacco from a package, comprises a structure movable along an upright and having two arms with rotatable gripping devices for gripping, lifting and rotating a packaged bale so that the block of tobacco can be released from the packaging box, and the empty box can be transferred to a discharge area.
An apparatus and method for stacking and loading disc-like objects into receptacles is provided. The apparatus includes a lane combining conveyor which receives multiple lanes of product and combines one or more of the outer lanes into the remaining lanes. A stack former is provided for forming individual stacks of patties which are side supported onto rails. The rails can be pivoted down to divert patties for clearing jams. After the product is formed on the stack formers, a stack transfer mechanism transfers the stacks of products formed on the stack forming rails to the matrix former. Matrix former receives individual rows of multiple stacks from the stack transfer mechanism. A stripper mechanism is used to ensure that the stacks are not scrambled during this transfer. Once the matrix former is filled with product, a case rollover mechanism is rotated to the matrix former. Both the case and the matrix former are rotated back together to bring the case to the upright position and transfer the stacks into the case. The matrix former is then removed from the case with a vertical motion and rolled back into position to receive stacks from the stack transfer mechanism.
A new and improved case sealer assembly comprises a pair of oppositely disposed case drive mechanisms for conveying a multiplicity of cases through a sealing station. The drive mechanisms are laterally separated from each other such that an interior space is formed therebetween which effectively defines a sealing station for serially accommodating the multiplicity of cases to be sealed. The pair of drive mechanisms are mounted upon arms that are movably mounted in a linear manner so as to be capable of being manually adjusted toward and away from each other in a substantially infinite number of increments, and in addition, the arms are also pivotally mounted such that not only are the drive mechanisms manually movable toward or away from each other in order to initially adjust the lateral distance, defined between the pair of oppositely disposed drive mechanisms, to any one of an infinite number of predetermined dimensions whereby various different cartons or cases, having various, different predetermined width dimensions, can be accommodated by the case sealer assembly, but in addition, the pair of oppositely disposed drive mechanisms are mounted for automatic expansible movement with respect to each other so as to accommodate various different cases having various different width dimensions within a predetermined range of width dimensions.
A new and improved case former, or carton folding and erecting apparatus, is disclosed wherein a pair of pivotal support arms, upon each one of which is mounted a case or carton engagement roller, are mounted upon the machine framework such that when actuator mechanisms, for folding the oppositely disposed major side bottom flap members of the case or carton to their folded positions so as to complete the formation of the bottom portion of the case or carton, are actuated, the pair of pivotal support arms are effectively released from a restrained position, at which case or carton engagement rollers are disposed at retracted positions with respect to the case or carton blank so as to initially permit the case or carton blank to be inserted into the case former, or carton folding and erecting apparatus, in an unobstructed manner, whereby the case or carton engagement rollers can now engage the major side walls of the case or carton so as to retain the case or carton in position while the case or carton is subsequently filled with product.
