884,179. Carton handling machines. FOOD MACHINERY & CHEMICAL CORPORATION. July 2, 1959 [July 23, 1958], No. 22742/59. Class 94(1). A carton handling machine includes a magazine for storing folded cartons, a pusher to advance one folded carton at a time, presser mechanism vertically reciprocable in the magazine to press a carton down into engagement with the pusher, gate mechanism for releasing single cartons at predetermined time intervals and for depositing each carton upon a main conveyer,- means for partly unfolding an advancing carton and means for completing the unfolding of the said carton. Feeding folded cartons. The folded cartons are stacked in a magazine A comprising a slotted bottom plate 50 and front and rear walls 52, 54 having flanges 56. The magazine may be adjusted for inclination by supporting straps e.g. 64a which are secured to the frame 30 by a bolt-and-slot connection. The upper run of a conveyer chain 84 lies in the longitudinal slot 78 of the plate 50 and the chain passes round sprockets 80, 82, the latter being the driving sprocket, with tension-adjusting screws 89. Pusher lugs 90, spaced along the chain 84, project through the slot 78 by a distance above the bottom 50 equal to the thickness of a folded carton, each having a notch 92 adapted to form a seating for the trailing edge of a folded carton. The bottom folded carton of the stack in the magazine is pressed down by mechanism B which comprises a block 120 which is vertically slidable on the wall 52. In the block 120 a rod 160, Fig. 5, is slidable against a spring 164 and has a slot 169 into which enters the end 167 of a lever 144. The block 120 also has a groove 128 in which a finger 124 is urged to pivot anticlockwise by a spring 130. Just before a pusher lug 90 passes under the front wall 52 of the magazine, a cam 158 acts on an arm 150 to move the lever 144 in a direction to push the block 120 downwards, carrying with it the finger 124 until its foot 138 presses on a carton with a force determined by the spring 164. When the lobe of the cam 158 has moved away, a spring 170 acts on the lever 144 to cause the block 120 to rise and as it does so the finger 124 is cammed forward and slides past the edges of the overlying cartons. To ensure that the cartons are released from the other end of the magazine A one at a time only, gate mechanism C operates there and comprises gauge bars 180 which can slide vertically on the wall 54 and are pressed downwards by coil springs 194 to a limit, determined by nuts 196, which leaves only sufficient space for one folded carton to pass between a foot portion 184 on the gauge bar and a leaf-spring 200, the tip 206 of which snaps upwards the trailing edge of the passing carton and ensures its prompt release from the pusher lug 90. Unfolding cartons. The main conveyer E comprises a pair of endless chains 210 with driving sprockets 212 and guide sprockets 214 on the shaft of which are cams 310, 316. The upper runs of the chains 210 are guided by flanges 234, 236, Fig. 3B. Parallel rails 230, 230a support the cartons as they move through the opening station F and through a flap manipulating station G. As a pusher lug 90 continues to propel a flat, folded carton forward the leading edge of the carton slides along the rails 230, 230a until it meets a stop 300 which projects from the end of a lever 302. The lever 302 is pivotally mounted and its end is raised and lowered by the cam 310. Since the conveyer E is lower than the conveyer D the carton slides in a tilted condition and it is so supported by a plate 312 which is also pivoted and is raised and lowered by the cam 316. As the carton moves in its tilted condition, two carton-opening blades 330 come into operation. Each of these blades is mounted on a sloping shaft 332 which is geardriven from a shaft 336 and the shaft 336 is oscillated through rack-and-pinion drive which is connected by a rod 352 to a lever 350. Fig. 9, operated by a face cam 372 on the shaft 218 of the sprocket 212. The blades 330 descend and engage the end closure flaps 374, 374a, and slide along them until they pass through the openings between the end flaps and the side flaps 380, 380a and come into engagement with the lower top and bottom side closure flaps 385, Fig. 12. Cam 316 then operates to lower the plate 312 and the lower side wall 384 of the carton is thus free to turn downwards about the leading edge in response to the continued downward motion of the blades 330. At the same time one of a series of pairs of fingers 240, projecting from the chain 210, swings the lower end wall of the carton upwards and forwards, the leading edge still being restrained by the stop 300, and the fingers 240 then co-operate with pusher lugs 266, projecting from overhead chains 250, to propel the opened carton forwards, the cam 310 suitably functioning to cause the stop 300 to drop. A bar 242 is pivoted to each finger, loosely seated in a notch 244, and the spacing between the end of each bar 242 and the adjacent finger 240, and between the lugs 266, is suitable for the length of the carton being propelled. The lower runs of the chains 250 rest on the upper surfaces of the erected cartons. The sides of the cartons are restrained by horizontal guides 246. Manipulating carton flaps. The carton arrives at the flap manipulating station G in a fully opened position with the flaps projecting horizontally and vertically outwards, Fig. 14. The side from which the carton is to be filled, i.e. eventually the top side, is fully opened by, first the outward spreading of the leading flap 374a and then the outward spreading of the trailing flap 375a. The flap 374a is spread outwards by a bent rod 464 which projects from the top of an oscillating vertical shaft 466. The mechanism, Figs. 3A and 3B, for oscillating the shaft 466 comprises a pinion 472 on the shaft engaged by a rack 474 which is reciprocated through a link 480 from the end of a lever 482 operated by a face cam 486 on the shaft 218. The timing of the oscillations is such that the rod 464 holds the flap out until it passes under the plate 488. The flap 375a is spread outwards by encountering a disc 494 rotatably mounted (to minimize friction) on a fixed vertical shaft 496. As the carton continues its movement the top side closure flaps continue to project horizontally, the top end closure flaps having now been spread outwards. Fig. 14 also shows apparatus for spreading apart the horizontal flaps 380, 385 preparatory to the closing of the flap 374 and for closing the other vertical flap 375. A vertical shaft 406, oscillated by another face cam on the shaft 218 (through mechanism similar to that associated with the shaft 466) has arms 412, 418 projecting radially from its upper and lower ends. On the ends of these arms are shoes 414, 416 with arcuate edges which engage the flaps 380, 385 and cooperate to open them sufficiently for the end closure flaps 374, 375 to be folded between them. The first of the flaps to be folded in to form the bottom of the carton is the vertical flap 374, by its encounter with a rotatable disc 400. As the carton progresses the flap 374 is engaged by a rigid plate 444. From the oscillating shaft 406 also projects a bent rod 442 which folds the trailing flap 375 inwards with an action similar to that of the bent rod 464 on the leading end flap of the top of the carton. The flaps 380, 385 have then to be closed on the flaps 374, 375 and this is done, Fig. 15, by the movement of the carton past flap folding rods 460, 460a which -slope towards one another in the form of a V and are floatingly mounted, the divergent ends being pivoted in brackets 462, 462a carried by a post 276, Fig. 1, and by the joined ends 570 being free to move transversely for a distance limited by a bracket 526, to allow the rods to accommodate lateral movement of the carton during loading. Loading cartons. The carton arrives at the loading station fully opened and lying on its side with its top opened towards the delivery shoot 516 of the case loader H. When the carton arrives opposite the shoot it operates a micro-switch 560 which switches off the motor 94, stopping the conveyer E, and actuates a valve 552, Fig. 17, which directs pressure fluid to a cylinder 544 so that its piston-rod 546 swings a frame 520 about pivots 536 and causes a pusher plate 522, pivoted to the top of the frame, to push the open top of the empty carton over the shoot 516, the floating rods 460, 460a swinging to accommodate the movement. The pressure in the cylinder 544 is released, by means not shown, when the carton is pushed home. The frame 520 embodies a hinge construction to allow the pusher plate to be swung outwards for access to the shoot 516. The case loader H then operates in known manner to propel a load of cans in to the carton and to propel the carton, filled with cans, back on to the conveyer E. On this return movement, however, the carton tilts due to the weight of the cans in it, because the supporting rail 230a stops short of the pusher mechanism J, while the other rail 230 continues. A second micro-switch 566 is then actuated, from the case-loader N, and re-starts the motor 94 and conveyer E, whereby the filled and tilted carton is advanced to the tipping station K, the top corner sliding on the rail 230 and the bottom comer sliding on the flange 236, which is lower. Delivering loaded cartons. The angle bar 238 which embodies the flange 236 ends at the tipping station K and is replaced by a plate 580, Fig. 20. The plate 580 projects from sleeves 582 and also projecting from the sleeves 582 is a pair of arms 594 which are at such an angle to the plate 580 that when the carton slides thereon they engage its bottom. The sleeves 582 are rotatable on a shaft 584 and biased to the Fig. 20 condition by a torsion spring. As the carton approaches the end of the conveyer E, Fig. 3B, it moves a lever 640 and causes a shaft 644 to