US1338749A

US1338749A - End folding and sealing machine for cartons

Info

Publication number: US1338749A
Application number: US306084A
Authority: US
Inventors: George A Robinson
Original assignee: Pneumatic Scale Corp
Current assignee: Pneumatic Scale Corp
Priority date: 1919-06-23
Filing date: 1919-06-23
Publication date: 1920-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 1937-05-04

Description

G. A.ROB|NSO.N.

END FOLDING AND.SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

I APPLICATION F|LED JUNE23, 1919- R 33,749 Patented May 4, 1920,

4 SHEETS SHEET I.

I7 ll/671 007 G. A.ROB|NSON.

"END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

' APPLIQATION FILED JUNE23, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

1,338,749. Patented May 4, 1920.

F og .2.

a. KW wiiafww e. AEROBINSON.

END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE23, I919. I 1,338,749. Patented May 119m,

I 1 1X26 TUCOW" G. A.ROB|NSON.

END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23. 1919.

1,338,749. P tented May 4, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGIEl A. ROBINSON, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 PNEUMATIC SCALE CORPORATION, LIMITED, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE roa CARTONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1920.

7 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Quincy, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in End Folding and Sealing Machines for Cartons, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawin s.

The invention is for an improvement in machines for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons.

Most of the, knockdown cartons are formed of a single sheet of material which is creased or scored to form four. side-forming panels with a side sealing lap, and each panel has at each end a flap. The flaps at one end of the panels are intended to be folded and sealed to form the bottom of the carton, and the flaps at the other end are intended to be folded and sealed after the carton is filled to close the top of the filled carton. The present invention relates to mechanism especially intended for folding and sealing the bottom forming flaps as will be described with more particular reference to the bottom. Preliminary to the folding and sealing of the bottom forming flaps, the side'sealing lap has been sealed and the carton is squared-out into tubular form with the end flaps distended, and the squared-out tubular carton is then slipped onto a forming block shaped to the interior contour of-the squared-out carton and then the bottom forming flaps are folded against one end of the said block and the overlapping flaps are sealed together. The machine may however be employed in folding and sealing the top of the carton and the claims are intended to cover a machine of the character hereinafter described whether used as a bottom sealer or as a top sealer.

In machines of this character it is necessary that the folding devices and the gluing devices shall not only come in proper sequence with relation to each other, but also they should be properly timed with relation to each others movements so that there will not be interference, between the folding devices and the gluing devices. It is also desirable that when one of the flaps is folded it shall be held in folded position until the next overlapping flap comes up to hold it,

and that the last folded flap shall be the end flaps are folded and glued.

in position for a period of time until the sealing has become sufliciently dry to prevent its becoming unsealed. As heretofore 'folding devices and the retaining devices definitely fixed with relation to each other, and constructed in such a manner that any lost motion or wear in the parts will not materially change their relation to each other.

The cartons are usually rectangular in form, being wider in one direction than inthe other, so that they have two opposite wide panels and two opposite narrow pan els. The end forming flaps connected with the two narrow panels, which we will term the end panels, are usually shorter than the longer dimension of the bottom of the carton, so that these two flaps connected with the end panels either slightly overlap each other without extending clear across the bottom or sometimes barely meet, and still again there is a space between them. Each of the other two flaps, however, that is those connected with the broad or side panels, is usually of sufficient length to cover the entire bottom of the carton, one overlapping the other.

One feature of the invention consists in mounting the folding mechanism for the two narrow flaps, and alsothe gluing mechanism, upon a rotary spider which moves in a manner to successively bring the folding mechanisms for said two flaps and also the gluing mechanisms into operative position while the carton is held upon its forming block. Another feature of the'invention relates to the means for folding the two opposite side flaps successively 'ager 11- other feature of the invention consists in mounting the spiderupon a rotary shaft and driving the folding mechanism for the two side flaps by means of devices mounted on the same shaft as that on which the spider is mounted. 1 7

Another feature of the invention consists in mounting the gluing rolls and the flap retainers on the rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the end of the block a ainst which the bottom forming flaps are olded. So far as I am aware, it'is entirely new with me to mount the glue rolls, the flap folders and the flap retainers, either one or two or all three of the above, on a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the end of the block on which the flaps are folded.

Another feature of the invention consists in mounting the gluing roll on a springseated slide so that the gluing roll can yield to the pressure as it wipes over the surface of the flap, whether the gluing roll is mounted on a rotary spider or otherwise mounted,

and whether it travels in a circular path or in a straight path.

Another feature of the invention consists in having one glue roll to glue the under surface of the two end flaps, that is the two short flaps which are first folded and a second glue roll independent of the first glue roll to glue the first folded side fiap after it is folded over the folded end flaps.

Another feature of the invention consists in the method by which the glue roll is restricted from coming in contact with the end of the block and thereby smearing the block in case there happens to be no carton on the particular block when the glue roll in course of rotation of the spider would naturally engage the carton, if there was a carton on the block.

Another feature of the invention consists in means for preventing the glue roll from coming into contact with the block in the space between the two narrow or short end flaps which are first folded where the end flaps are so short that they do not meet. I believe that this idea is broadly new with me.

Another feature consists in the form of flap retainer which retains the flap in folded position, and consists in forming the contacting'surface on the arc of a circle with the some center as the spider.

Another feature consists in mechanism which cause 'the glue roll carried by the spider to strike the flap at a tangent, so that whenever the size of the block and the carton are changed to either wider or narrower the glue roll will not strike the side or corner of the block or strike the bottom of the block on the rising curve.

The mechanism of the present invention is intended to be used in connection'with a machine having a horizontally rotary spider with depending forming blocksto hold a squared-out carton during the folding and I sealing of. the bottom forming flaps, such for instancevas shown in Patent No. 736,237 to W. H. Doble, dated August 11, 1903, in which the rotary spider has four depending blocks at ninety degrees apart and provided with mechanism for rotating it intermittently so as to bring at each period of movement one of the depending forming blocks with'the carton held thereon into position tion not being limited to use in connection with any particular carton holding mechanism. For this reason the spider which holds the forming blocks is not shown, only two of the holding blocks being shown in proper relative position for convenience of illustration of the present invention.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this s ecification.

In the drawings, igure 1 is a'front elevation of mechanism embodying the invention. and shows the lower portions of two forming blocks which carry the cartons to be folded and sealed. These forming blocks are supposed to be depending from a rotary spider such as previously referred to, and to be ninety degrees apart from each other in the circular path of movement. of the spider.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 as viewed from the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of the spider which carries the folding and gluing devices and some of the other parts of the machine, viewed as in Fig. 1, the bearing bracket and all parts in front of the spider being removed for the sake of clearness.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view enlarged of the I mechanism for operating the first folding finger.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the glue feed roll, operating mechanism and glue tank.

Fig. 6 is a detailed view showing the mechanism for controlling the first glue roll to prevent gluing the block when there is a gap between the adjacent ends of the first two folded flaps.

Fig. 7 is a detailed View of the side flap folding rolls in plan view.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the mechanism for operating the carton clamping mechanism and the flap retaining finger.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the mechanism foi'1 locking the cam which controls the glue r0 s.

Referring now to the drawings, a represents one of the formingblocks on which a carton c is held and upon which the folding operation is in process of being performed. A forming block b is shown as in position to be next brought into position for the folding and sealing operation, and is supposed to he ninety degrees away from the block a, said blocks depending from the horizontal arms of a spider not shown, so that the forming blocks in their path of travel will move in a circular path describing a vertical cylinder.

A horizontal shaft 1 is journaled in bearings in a bracket 2. Fixedly mounted on said shaft 1 as for instance by a key 3 is a spider 4, which when the shaft rotates revolves in a vertical plane. Said spider is formed with two radiating portions 5 and 6 which radiate from the said shaft as a center at an angle to each other. The radiating portion 5 has extending therefrom an arm 7 which carries at its end a flap folding member 8, and an arm 9 which carries at its end a flap retaining member 10, which will be more particularly described hereinafter.

There is mounted on the shaft 1, by means which will be hereinafter described more fully, a folding arm 11 adapted to' fold the first end-flap, 12, the folding. member 8 being adapted to fold the second end flap, 13, after the flap 12'has been folded.

.The two ,side flaps, 14 and 15 respec tively, will be afterward folded in successive order by the folding rolls 16 and 17 shown in Fig. 2, by a lateral movement as will be more particularly described hereinafter. These latter folding rolls 16 and 17 are' not mounted on the spider 4 but-are moved independently of the spider, although actuated by mechanism so controlled as to properly time the movements of the side folding rollswith relation to the movements of the .folderfinger-ll and the folder member 8 carried by the spider.

The mechanism for actuating the folding arm 11 for folding the first flap is as fol lows The lower end of said arm 11 is connected with a boss 18 projecting from a segment gear 19 mounted loosely on the spider shaft 1, see Fig. 4. Preferably the said arm 11 is screw threaded at its lower end to engage with a threaded hole in the boss 18 so that the arm may be adjusted.

The segment gear 19 meshes with a sector gear 20 which is rotatably mounted on a stud 21, said stud 21 being mounted fast in the spider 4. The sector gear 20 has an arm 22 which carries at its outer end a roll 23. A cam 24 is mounted fast on the bracket 2, or mounted in some other way so as to be stationary, and the spider shaftl passes loosely through said cam. The roll 23 carried by the arm 22 of the sector 20 engages with the. periphery of said cam 24. As said sector is carried by the spider in the direction indicated by the arrow, that is counter clockwise, the said sector gear will also have a movement on its own axis and be caused to partially rotate as it rides over the periphery of the cam, rocking in one direction or the other according to the variaspider shaft 1 and the boss 18 will rock in a vertical plane. This rocking movement of the segment gear 19.and boss 18 gives an oscillating movement to the arm 11. The periphery of the cam 24 isof such contour that although the spider 4 rotates continuously counter clockwise, as shown by the arrow in Figs. 1 and 3, yet at a certain point in the rotation of the spider, that is when the roll 23 rides over the high part of the cam, that is from the point marked Z to the point marked Y, "thesector gear 20 will be rocked in such a direction that the segment gear 19 will cause the arm 11 to swing in a direction opposite to the general direction of travel of the spider, that is from the left to the right as viewed in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 and thereby fold the end flap 12 up against the bottom of the forming block, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. In those figures the said folding arm has nearly completed its folding operation and as will be seen in Fig. 4 the roll 23 is just about to ride onto the high part of the cam. In

v the continued movement of the spider while the roll 23 is riding from the point Y on the cam to the point Y there is a dwell, and while riding from the point Y to X on the cam the sector gear and the segment gear will be rocked in the reverse direction thereby causing the arm 11 to swing back out of engagement with the flap 12 to give opportunity for the folding member 8 to fold the second end flap 13 without interference.

The folding finger 11 will be retained in this outward position while the spider completes its rotation, that is until the roll 23 has traveled .from the point X to the point Z of the cam, this portion of the cam surface being concentric with the spider shaft, so that the arm 11 will remain stationary with relation to the spider although it revolves bodily with the spider around the axis of the spider.

The folding member 8 is carried by the arm 7 and rigidly connected with the spider- The forward end of the foldingmember 8 will engage the second flap 13 and partially fold it before the first folding member 11 begins to retreat, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The arms 11, however, begin to retreatimmediately following the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and retreat fast enough to keep out ofthe way of the flap 13 as the folding of said flap 13 is completed by the member 8.

The folder member 8 is preferably somewhat'U-shaped in plan view, the bow' of the U shape being at the left hand end 8 as viewed in Fig. 3 which engages with the flap 13. The legs of the U preferably flare particular feature of construction of the folding member 8, namely the flaring U shape, is notclaimed as a part of the present invention, it is not shown in the drawings in detail but is described as above for the purpose of more clearly understanding the general construction.

The glue roll 25 is mounted on a radially slidable spring seat as will now be described. The glue roll 25 is journaled in the arms of a U-shaped bracket 26 which is secured. to a slide member 27. -Said slide member 27 is slidable in grooved guides 2828 formed in the inner sides respectively of the folder arm 7 and the flap retainer arm 9 connected with the radiating arm 5 of the spider.

The folder arm 7 and the flap retainer carrying arm 9'are separated from each other by a slot-within which the slide member 27 moves in said guides 28-28. The said slide member 27 is carried by

arms

29 and 30 re-v spectively, the arm 29 being pivotally connected at one end by a pin 301 to the flap retainer arm 9 and at its other end it is pivotally connected by a pin.31 to the slide 27. .The arm 30 is pivotally connected at one end by a pin 32 to the flap retainer arm 9 and at its other end it is pivotally connected to the slide by a pin 33. The pin 33 projects to some distance laterally outside adapted to be engaged by a cam surface 37 for the purpose which will be described hereinafter.

A spring 36 is coiled around the pin 32, and has one arm which rests upon the hub 35 of the spider shaft 1, and another arm shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, which bears against the under side of the hub of arm 30, the stress of said spring 36 being such that it tends to press the slide 27 radially outward. This outward pressure is suflicient to hold the slide and therefore the roll 25 far enough outwardly to cause the glue roll to engage the under surface of the flap 13 during the rotation of the spider. As the path of movement of the spider would normally carry the glue roll bodily in share of a circle, and as the glue roll should travel in astraight line when it wipes over the surface of the flap 13, the spring seat of the slide 27, in which the glue roll is mounted, allows the slide to be pushed radially inward to compensate for the tendency otherwise to move in a convex path. The means for causing the glue roll to travel in a straight line when it moves over the surface of the flap consists of the cam- 37 which is engaged by the roll 34 as will be more fully described hereinafter.

As one end of each of the

arms

29 and 30 is fixed to the arm 9, the swinging end of said

arms

29 and 30 while the slide is moving in and out must move in the arc of a circle; therefore the slide 27 must be allowed sufiicient lateral clearance in the guides 28-28 to allow for this movement. For that reason the grooved guideways must be sufficiently deep to allow for such lateral movement. This extra clearance is shown by the space between the dotted lines as shown in Fig. 3. The two inner dotted lines indicate the edges of the slide, and the two outer dotted lines indicate the depth of the grooved ways. The glue roll 25 will travel over the flap 13 and thence over the flap 12.

After the

flaps

13 and 12 have beentraversed by the glue roll 25, the first side flap 14 will be folded over onto the

flaps

13 and 12, but it is important to provide some means for holding the flap 13 from falling back after it has been traversed by the glue roll 25 until the side foldingroll 16 can come into engagement with the side flap 14 to bring it up against the

flaps

13 and 12. This is accomplished by a flap retaining member 10, which is carried by the arm 9 on the spider and swings lightly up into engagement with the flap 13 directly behind the glue roll 25 and before the flap 13 can fall down any great distance. It is not necessary that the flap retainer 10 shall hold the it should hold it up sufliciently far so that it will be in position to be engaged and pressed of the slide and carries at its end a roll 3 1 I by the folding of the flap 14;.

upward against the under side of the block This flap retainer 10 is preferably a thin strip of sheet metal secured to the outer end of the arm 9 and which is seen in side elevation in Figs. 1 and 3 and in edge view in Fig. 2. The outer edge of this flap retainer 10 is preferably on the arc of a circle concentric with the spider shaft 1. The parts of the mechanism are timed so that the tip end of the retainer 10 will ride off of the flap 13 in ample time to prevent interference with the side flap folding roll 16. The flap retainer 10 is made thin in order not to scrape the glue from the under side of the flap 13, and for the same reason it preferably does not extend out far enough radially to press the flap 13 against the under side of the forming block, so that the only pressure of the flap 13 upon the retainer is due simply to' the weight of the flap.

As already stated it is desirable that the glue roll shall travel in a straight line at the time it engages with the flap 13, that is that it shall change from a circular path to a straight path tangential to the circular flap 13 pressed up against the flap 12, but

path of the periphery of the glue roll. Means for accomplishing this are as follows: A cam plate 371 is pivoted at one end by a pin 372 to one side of the bracket. Said plate has on one side a cam flange 37 which rests on the roll 34. Said flange is formed with a downward drop on a curve, and it is so located that just before the glue roll 25 is ready to engage the flap 13, the roll 34 carried on the stud 33 of the arm 30 will engage the under side of the curved part of said flange 37 which serves as a cam, and first lift the cam plate until the cam flange strikes the stop screw 375 unless the cam ward curve of the cam 37 to compensate for the normal downward swing of the glue roll, thus causing the glue roll itself to travel in a straight line during all of the time that the roll 34 is riding on the cam surface of the flange 37. The stop pin 375 is adjustable and should be so adjusted as to allow the cam to be lifted enough so that the slide may move out far enough for the glue roll to-wipe'against the under face of the flap 13. The stop pin is shown as a screw which is screwed down through a flange'373 projecting from one side of the bracket 374/ See Fig. 1.

The means to prevent the glueroll 25 from engaging the bottom of the carton holderJolock if there is a gap between the adjacent ends of the

flaps

12 and 13, and yet allow it to glue both of said flaps, is as follows: Secured to the cam plate 371 is an arm 381 carrying a roll 382 projecting therefrom. A cam block 38 is secured to the flap retainer arm 9 in a position where its inclined edge 383 will engage the'roll 382 just before the glue roll 25 passes off of the flap 13. The block 38 is set so that the inclined edge 383 will act as a cam and by its engagement with the roll 382 will depress the cam plate 371, thereby also retracting the slide 27 by reason of the cam flange 37 pressing on the roll 34 carried by the arm 30. This will cause the glue roll to drop down far enough to not contact with the block a. As soon as the spider has rotated far enough for the cam block 38 to ride off of the roll 382. the cam plate 371 is free to respond to the outward push of the roll 34 against the cam flange 37 under the stress of the spring 36. The cam block 38 is of such size that it will release the cam plate 371 as soon as the glue roll 25 has passed the gap between the

flaps

13 and 12.

- The block 38 is preferably secured to the spider in such manner that it may be readily detachedand a block of different size substituted, according to the length of gap between the flaps. If screws 39 are employed to attach the block, the different sized blocks may have screw holes spaced so as to lit the screw holes in the spider. If the cartons have flaps which do not leave a gap between them, the block 38 will be detached and entirely left off.

. The mechanism for folding the side flaps will now be described, first considering the mechanism for folding the first side flap 14. A folder roll 16 is mounted in a forked arm 40, which is pivoted on a pin 41 between the vertical forked arms 42 of a bracket 44 which is secured to the slide 45, said slide being slidably mounted in grooved ways in a bracket'top 46. The bracket 44 is preferably adjustably secured to the slide 45, so

that it may be adjusted to a more forward or backward position. The means shown is a screw 441 which passes through an elongated slot in the bracket and is screwed into the slide. A spring 47, coiled around the pin 41, has one arm which engages a shoulder 42 as a stop, and another arm which engages a shoulder on the roller-carrying arm 40, said arms tending to spread so that the stress of the spring tends to lift or turn upward the arm 40 and the roll 16.

The slide 45 is actuated at the proper time, after the two end flaps have been folded and glued, to move inward, that is to the left as viewed in Fig. 2, to engage the downwardly extending flap 14 and fold it up against the two previously folded flaps. The mechanism for doing this is as follows :On the under side of the slide 45 is secured a rackspring 52 is connected at one end with the arm 50 between the fulcrum point on the stud 51 and the toothed sector end 49, the other end of said sprin being secured to the stationary bracket 2. aid spring is always under tension and tends to pull the sector 49 toward the left from the position shown in Fig. 2, but is normally restrained therefrom by means which will presently be described. When it is free to pull the said sector gear to the left, it will cause the slide 46 to move to the left carrying with it the arm 40 and the folding roller 16, causing it to engage the flap 14 and fold it up against the previously folded flaps 12 and'13.

The means for normally restraining, however, the said movement of the sector arm 50 is as follows: The bell crank of which the arm 50 is a part hasan arm 53'carrying a roller 54 which rides on .the periphery of

flaps

12 and 13 have been folded. At that time a drop in the periphery of the cam will come around tothe roll 54, thus allowing the arms 53 and to respond to the pull of the spring 52. This will cause the sector gear 49 to actuate the slide 45 toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2, causing the folding roll 16 to move forward and fold up the flap 14 against the fl'aps 12-13. A slight further rotation of the cam 55 will bring the roll 54 up out of the depression in the cam causing the sector arm 50 to rock backward and therefore carrying back the slide and the folder roll 16.

After the flap 14 has been folded it is necessary that its under surface should be glued, and then the fourth flap 15 will be folded up against flap 14. It is important, however, that the flap 14 should be held against dropping down after the folder roll 16 retreats and during the gluing of the flap 14. The flap retaining and gluing mechanism for the flap 14 is as follows :-The arm 6 is bifurcated similar to the arm 5, forming a slot between a flap retaining arm 56 and a second flap retaining arm 57, whose purpose will be hereinafter described. A flap retainer blade 58 is mounted on the end of the arm 56, said retainer blade 58 being curved on its outer edge on'the arc of a circle concentric with the spider shaft and being made thin for the same reason as already described with relation to flap retainer 10. Its radius is preferably slightly less than the distance from the center of rotation of the spider to the flap 14 so that when the retainer arm reaches its highest point in its path of rotation it will not press the flap, against the under side of the block but will serve merely to lightly support the flap 14 if the flap 14 drops down a very slight distance in the same way as described for the flap retainer 10 to engage the flap,

18. The flap retainer 58 will come up into position to support the flap 14 just as the folder roll 16 withdraws.

A glue roll 59 is journaled on a stud mounted in a forked bracket 60 carried on the end of a slide 61 which moves in grooved Ways 62 in a similar Way as the glue roll 25 is mounted, and is also actuated in a similar way to the glueroll 25, .that is by the

arms

63 and 64. The arm 63 is pivoted at one end to the arm '57 and at its other end to the slide 61, and the arm 64 is pivoted at one end to the arm 57 and at its other end to a stud 65 projecting from the slide 61 and carrying at its outer end a roll 66.. A spring 67 is provided similar to the spring 36 and similarly connected and engaging the stud 65 and the hub 35, said spring having a tendency to thrust the slide outward, and yielding as the roll engages the cam.

37 to cause the glue roll to travel in a straight path.

Immediately after the flap 14 has been glued, the flap retaining blade 68 carried by the arm 57 comes intoposition to help support the flap 14and prevent it from dropping until the flap 15 is turned up far enough to hold the flap 14. The means for folding the flap 15 are very similar to the folding mechanism for the flap 14. The flap folder roll 17 is carried between the branches of the forked arm 69 pivoted on the stud 70, said stud 70 being journaled in forked bearings 71 rising from a bracket 72 which is mounted on a slide 73 in a bracket top 74.1 The bracket 72 is adjustably secured to the slide in the same manner as the. bracket 44 is se cured to the slide 45. See Fig. 7. The

pose as the spring '47 connected with the,

folder arm 40. The cam 81 is formed with the cam surface'so shaped as to permit the lever arm 77 to respond to the pull of the fsipri'ng 83 at the proper time to fold the After the last flap has been folded a presser device 178 will come .into engagement with. the said last folded flap to press it and the previously folded flaps against the block with sufficient force and for sufficient length of time to cause the flaps to all adhere together. The presser mechanism, is not shown in detail as it forms no part of the present invention.

After the last flap 15 has been folded, it is important that the said lastfiap should be held from dropping down before the presser member, previously referred to, has opportunity to engage the flap and press it up firmly against the block. This intermediate retaining device is as follows: An

arm 170 is mounted on a vertical pin 171 in such a manner as to be capable of an OS- cillating movement in a horizontal plane, and carries a finger-at 172 having a bent portion 17 3, which when the said arm 170 oscillates in one direction is adapted to be swung forward directly underneath the last folded flap of the carton. Rigidly connected with the arm 170 so as to move there with is an arm 174 which carries a roll 175 which'engages with the periphery of a cam 176. A spring 177 retains the said roll 175 in constant engagement with said cam. lVhen the roll 175 is on the high part of the cam, the finger 173 will be in a retracted position, as shown in Fig. 8. lVhen, however, the roll 175 rides from the high part of the cam into the drop in the cam, the finger 173 will be thrown forward just be neath the forming block in a position to engage the folded flap. This is timed to occur just as the last flap is folded.

It is important that the cartons should be clamped firmly to the forming block during the folding and sealing of the bottom flaps, so that it shall not slip off of the block or slip down out of position. Mechanism is shown in the drawings for that purpose, there being provided a clamp for each of two-opposite sides. The clamping mecha nism for one side of the block is as follows: An adjustable stud 85 carried by an sh-aft 92. A spring 93 has one end connected at 94 with a fixed part of the frame, and at its other en jection 95 rigidly connected with the arm 89 of the bell crank. The stress of this spring tends to hold the clamp 87 firmly against the side of the carton. The cam 91 is formed with a rising portion 96, and when during the rotation of the shaft 92 the roller 90 rides up on the high part 96 of the cam, it will rock the bell crank on its fulcrum 88 and turn it backward so as to withdraw the clamp 87 from engagement with the carton. The parts are all so timed with relation to each other that the roll will ride up on this high part of the cam at the proper time to release the clamp from the carton, and will again ride off of the high part of the cam to permit the clamp to respond to the stress of the spring at the proper time, when the spider which carries the forming blocks brings a forming block with anew carton on it into position to be folded.

The clamping member for the opposite side of the carton is similar in most respects to the clamping mechanism already described, but slightly different in detail, and

its release is controlled by the mechanism for releasing the first clamping member. The second clamping mechanism is as follows: A clamp 97 is carried by a stud 98 adjustably connected with an arm 99 fast on is connected with a pro-- shafl 100. A spring 101 tends to hold the arm in position to maintain the clamp in clamping engagement with the carton; said spring 101 is a push spring while the spring is a pull spring. An arm 102 which is rigidly connected with arm 99 has adjustably connected therewith a stop screw 103,.

. angle and connected with an arm 107 which in turn is connected with one end of a horizontal rocker shaft 108. The other end of the rocker shaft 108 has connected therewith an arm 109 which in turn is connected with the bent lower end of the vertical connecting rod 110, the upper end of said rod 110 being connected with one end of an arm 111 whose other end is fixedly connected with the shaft 88 on which the bell crank 86 is mounted. By the connections thus described when the bell crank 86 is rocked by the engagement of thehigh partof the cam 96 with the roll 90 to retract the clamp 87, the opposite clamp 97 will also be retracted. I

The means by which the glue roll is prevented from being projected out far enough to engage the bottom of the forming block sition, as shown in Fig. 1. If it is locked in that lowermost position, then when during the rotation of the spider the roll 34 on the arm 30 rides on'the under side of the cam 37 the slide 27 which carries the glue roll 25 will not be permitted to move out far enough radially under the impulse of the spring for the glue roll to engage either the carton or the block, although the glue roll will still move in a straight path as it passes under the block, by reason of the cam 37. Means are provided. to thus lock the cam plate 371 in its lowermost position each time after the block-carrying spider, (not shown). begins to move to carry away the block on which a carton ward depending flaps. When the cam plate is thus unlocked, it is permitted to be lifted a limited distance by the roll 34 on the arm 30 before the roll rides under the curved part of the cam 37, the amount of the lift being sufficient to permit the slide 27 which carries the glue roll to be moved radially outward far enough for the glue roll to Wipe against the under side of the fiap 13, as previously described.

The locking means for locking the cam 37 in its lowermost position are as follows: See Figs. 1, 2 and 9. A lug 115 projects laterally from one side of the plate 371. A bracket 116 is fixedly secured to a vertical rocker shaft 117, as showrf in the drawings, Figs. 1 and 9. Said bracket is formed with two

lugs

118 and 119, apertured to receive the shaft 117 which fits tightly in said apertures so that the bracket will rock with the shaft. A finger 120 projects laterally from the upper end of the bracket, and is adapted to extend over the top of the lug 115 and when .in that position it will prevent the cam plate 371 from rising, thus locking it so that the slide 27 which carries the glue roll will be prevented from being moved out far enough for the glue roll to come in contact with the block during therotation of the spider, provided the lock is not released.

Said rocker shaft 117 extends vertically downward, (see Figs. 1 and 2) and at its lower end is'connected with one end of an arm 121, the other end of the arm being connected with one end of a rod 122, the other end of said rod 122 being connected with an arm 123, said arm 123 also being conuected with the. lower end of a vertical rocker shaft 124; the upper end of said rocker shaft 124 has a finger 125 projecting laterally therefromwhich when the cam plate 371 is located in its downward position extends into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, that is in the path of the downwardly extending flap 14 of the carton on the block b.

\Vhen the parts are in position with c am plate locked, and the finger 125 extending into the path of the flap 15, then when the spider which carries the forming blocks r0- tates after the carton on the block a has had its bottom sealed and begins to more off and the block 7) begins to move through its circular path of travel to bring it next into position previously occupied by the block a, the flap 15 will by its engagement with the finger 125 rock the shaft 124 and this in turn will swing the ,a rni 123 in a horizontal plane. thereby moving the connecting rod 122 and swinging the arm 121- in a horizontal plane. thus rocking the vertical shaft 117 suflicient to turn the finger 120 out of a locked position with relation to the lug 115 on the cam plate 371. This allows the said cam plate to be lifted by the roll 34 under the stress of the spring 36 until the cam plate strikes the stop 375 and the glue roll will be carried outward by the slide 27 into operative position with relation to the flap 13.

The means for turning the rocker shaft 117 back again, to bring the finger 120 into a locking position after the spider 4 has rotated far enough for the second roll 59 to have performed its operation, is as follows: Secured to the vertical rocker shaft 124 is an arm 126 which is connected with one end of a rod 127 whose other end is connected with one end of an arm 128 pivoted on a stud connected with the frame. Said arm carries at 129 a roller 130 which engages with the cam 131 mounted on shaft 92. Said cam 131 has an operative surface so that at the proper time in the rotation of the shaft 92, (which is properly timed and controlled in its rotation by the driving shaft which drives the other mechanisms) the shaft 117 will rock in a direction the reverse of that in which it was actuated by the engagement of the finger 125 by the depending flap of the carton on the block I), thus turning the locking finger 120 back into position over the lug 115 on the pivoted cam plate 371 and it remains in its locking position until it shall be again released by a depending fiap on another carton.

The spider shaft 1 is driven by a main shaft 140 through any suitable connection. The connection shown is a sprocket chain 141 which runs over a sprocket wheel 142 on the main shaft and a sprocket wheel 144 on the spider shaft.

The shaft 92 is driven by gear connection 145 on the main shaft with the gear 146 on the shaft 92.

The glue rolls 25- and 59 are supplied with glue by comingin contact at each rotation of the spider with a gluing roll 150, which is mounted on a shaft 151 on which is mounted a wheel 152 driven by any suitable means. Said glue roll 150 dips into a glue tank 153. The shaft 151 carries a spur gear 154 which in turn meshes with a gear 155 mounted on a shaft 156, which carries a roll 157. Said roll 157 is smaller than the roll 150 and the bearings for the shaft 156 are so positioned that the roll 157 will very nearly come in contact with the roll 150. The two gears 154 and 155 bear the same ratio to each other as the glue rolls 150 and 157, so that they will rotate at the same speed. The purpose of the small roll 157 is to regulate the thickness of the film of glue which will be carried by the gluing roll 150. The bearings 158 for the shaft 156 may be adjusted to bring the roll 157 nearer to or farther away from the gluing roll 150 by means of the adjusting screws 159,

Scrapers 160 are provided at the opposite sides ofthe gluing roll 157, to take off any glue that may be forced out sidewise from between the gluing rolls 150 and 157.

l/Vhat I claim is 1. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of a carton, the combination of a stationary former on which a carton is held with the end forming flaps extending beyond the end of the former, a rotary member, an oscillatable folding member carried by said rotary member, and means for causing said folding member to rock in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the rotary member on which it is mounted and fold one of the carton flaps against the end of the former into a plane tangent to the arc of move ment of the said folding member.

2. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of a carton, the combination of a stationary former on which a carton is held with the end forming flaps extending beyond the end of the former, a rotary meme ber, an oscillatable folding member carried by said rotary member, means for causing said folding member to rock in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the rotary member on which it is mounted and fold one of the carton flaps against the end of the former into a plane tangent to the arc of movement of the said folding member, and a second folding member carried by the said rotary member, and stationary with relation thereto, so positioned that in the continued rotation of the said rotary member said folding member will engage the extending flap opposite the first folded flap and fold it against the end of the former into the same plane with the said first folded flap.

3. In a machine for folding and sealing end forming flaps of cartons, a former on which the carton is held in tubular form with distending flaps, a rotary member which rotates in one direction, an oscillatable folding member carried by said rotary member, means for causing said folding member to rock in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the rotary member on which it is mounted, and fold one of the carton flaps against the end of the former, a second folding member carried by said rotary member so positioned that it will engage one of the distending flaps opposite the first folded flap after the first flap has been folded, and fold it up against the end of the former, and a glue roll carried by said rotary member so positioned that it-Will engage the said second folded flap after it has been folded.

4. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons while the carton is held in tubular form on a forming block, a rotary-spider which rotates in a plane at right an les to the plane of the end of the block which holds the carton, a folder member mounted on said spider and means for causing said folder member to rock in a backward direction counter to the direction of movement of the spider, and fold one'of the flaps of the carton, the said folder member moving in a path tangent to the end of the forming block against which the end flap is folded.

5. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons while the carton is held in tubular form on a forming block, a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at'ri ht angles to the plane of the end of the bloc which holds the carton, a folder member mounted on said spider, means for causing said folder member to rock in a backward direction counter to the direction of movement of the spider, and tangent to the end of the forming block to fold the first flap of the carton, means for causing said folder member to then rock forward in the general direction of movement of the spider and a second folder member carried by said spider which after the first folder member has performed its function engages a second flap opposite said first folded flap and folds it up against the end of the former, the said second folder member traveling in a path substantially tangent to the end of the forming block against which the flaps are folded.

(3. A machine for folding and sealing the said folder member to rock in a backward direction counter to the direction of movement of the spider, and fold the first flap of the carton. means for causing said folder member to then rock forward in the general direction of movement of the spider, a second folder member carried by said spider which after the first folder member has performed its function engages a second flap opposite said first folded fiap and folds it up against the end of the former, and a glue roll mounted on said spider which follows said second folding member and rides over the outer face of said second foldedflap.

7. A machine for folding and sealing end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the end forming flap of the carton and a glue roll having a spring-seated mount carried by the said spider.

8. A machine for folding and sealing end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the end forming flap of the carton and a glue roll having a spring-seated mount carried vby the said spider, said spring-seated mount being movable radially with relation to the axis of rotation of the spider.

9. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a .rotary spider, means carried thereby for successively folding two opposite flaps of the carton, a glue roll carried thereby which engages the said folded flaps, means for folding a third flap over said previously folded and glued 'flaps, and a second glue roll which is carried by the spider into---position"'to engage the. third folded flap.

10. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps for cartons having in combination a rotary spider, means carried thereby for successively folding two opposite flaps of the carton, a glue roll carried thereby which engages the said folded flaps, means for folding a third flap over said previously folded and glued flaps, a second glue roll which is carried by the spider into position to engage the third folded flap, and a flap retainer which is carried by said spider and engages the second folded flap after the first gluing roll has passed over the flap and before the third flap folder folds the third flap.

11. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps for cartons, having in combination a rotary spider, means carried thereby for successively folding two opposite flaps of the cartons, a glue roll carried thereby which engages the said folded flaps. means for folding a third flap over said previously folded and glued flaps, a second glue roll which is carried by the spider into position to engage the third folded flap, a flap retainer which is carried by said spider and engages the second folded flap after the first gluing roll has passed over the flap and before the third flap folder folds the third flap, and a second flap retainer carried by said spider which engages the third flap after it has been folded and before the second glue roll comes into engagement with said third flap.

12. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider. means carried thereby for successively folding two opposite flaps of the carton, a glue roll carried thereby which engages the said folded flaps, means for folding a third flap over said previously folded and glued flaps. a second glue roll which is carried by the spider into position to engage the third folded flap. a flap retainer which is carried by said spider and engages the second folded flap after the first gluing roll has the said third flap after it is glued.

13. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the folded end flaps, two folding members carried by said spider which successively engage two opposite distended flapsand fold them to partially form the end of the carton, a gluing device carried by said spider into position to glue the second folded flap, means for folding the third flap and a second gluing mechanism carried by said spider in position to glue the third folded flap, said second gluing mechanism being independent of said first gluing mechanism.

14. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider carrying two flap folding members and two gluing members, and means for rotating said spider to successively bring said folding members and gluing members into operative positionto fold and to glue different flaps of the carton.

15. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider carrying two flap folding members and two gluing members, means for rotating said spider to successively bring said folding members and gluing members into operative position to fold and to glue different flaps of the carton, means for folding a third and fourth flap of the carton and means for controlling the movements of said-several folding and gluing members in such manner that two opposite flaps will be first successively folded and then glued, then. the third flap .will be folded and glued, then the fourth flap will be folded.

16. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the folded flaps, means carried by said spider for folding certain of the flaps, means carried by the spider for gluing certain of the flaps, and a flap retainer blade carried by the spider to support one of the folded flaps until the next flap is ready to be folded, said retainer blade having an outer periphery which is curved on an arc of a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the spider.

17. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons, having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the folded flaps, means carried by saidl spider for successively folding certain of the flaps one over another, and a flap retainer blade carried by the spider to engage and support one of the folded flaps until the next flap is ready to be folded over=to retain said first flap in position.

18. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons, having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the plane of the folded flaps, means carried by said spider for successively folding certain of the flaps one over another, and a flap retainer blade carried by the spider to engage and support one of the folded flaps until the next flap is ready to be folded over said first flap, said retainer blade having an outer periphery which is curved on an arc of a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the spider.

19. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a block to receive a tubular carton, said block having an end against which the flaps are folded, a rotary spider and a glue roll mounted on said spider in position to engage one of the folded flaps during the movement of the spider.

20. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons, having in combination a holder to receive a carton having distended flaps, a rotary member, means carried by said rotary member which during its rotation engages and folds certain of the flaps, and a glue roll mounted on said rotary member in position to follow after the folding and engage one of the folded flaps during the movement of said rotary member.

21. A machine for folding and sealingthe end forming flaps of cartons, having in combination a block to receive a tubular carton with distended flaps, said block having an end against which the flaps are to be folded, a rotary spider mounted independent of said block, and a flap folder carried by said spider, which when the spider rotates moves adjacent the said block and engages with and folds one of the end forming flags during the rotation of the spider.

22. machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons, having in combination a block to receive a tubular carton, said block having an end against which the flaps are to be folded, a rotary spider, a plurality of flap folders carried by the spider, means for actuating said flap folders to successively fold the flaps, and a flap retainer carried by said spider which during the rotation of the spider engages the prior one of the said folded flaps to hold it in folded position until the next flap is folded up against the said. previously folded flap.

23. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons having in combination a block on which the tubular cartons are mounted and having an end against which the flaps are to be folded, means for folding two opposite flaps against the end of said block, a movable gluing device, means for moving said gluing device over the outer face of said two flaps, and means for causing the gluing device to skip an intermediate portion.

24. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a slide mounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis of rotation of said spider, a gluing device carried by said slide, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the spider and pivotally connected at its other end to said slide, a projection on said arm and cam pivotally connected at one end to a fixed part of the machine, the other end of the cam resting on the said projection from the arm of the slide, a spring which tends to thrust said slide radially outward and a stop which is adapted to engage said'c'am, and thereby through the engagement of said cam with the projection on the slide-carried arm to limit the outward thrust of the said slide.

25. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a slide mounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis of rotation of said spider, a gluing device carried by said slide, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the spider and pivotally connected at its other end to said slide, a projection on said arm, a cam pivotally connected at one end to a fixed part of the machine, the other end of the cam resting on the said projection from the arm of the slide, a spring which tends to thrust said slide radially outward and a stop which is adapted to engage. said cam, and thereby through the engagement of said cam with the projection on the slide-carried arm to limit the outward thrust of the said slide, said cam being formed with a convex por- 1 ti'on which during the rotation of the spider is adapted to engage said projecting portion on the slide-carried arm to compensate for the normally curved path of movement of the gluing device, and cause the gluing device to move for a limiteddistance in a straight path.

26. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a slide mounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis of rotation of said spider, a gluing member carried by said slide, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the spider and pivotally connected at its other end to said slide, a projection on said arm, a cam pivotally connected at one end to a fixed part of the machine, the other end of the cam resting on the said projection from the arm of the slide, a spring which tends to thrust said slide radially outward, a stop which is adapted to engage said cam, and thereby through the engagement of said cam with the projection on the slide-carried arm to limit the outward thrust of the said slide, said cam being formed with a convex portion which during the rotation of the spider is adapted to engage said projecting portion on the slide-carried arm to compensate for the normally curved ath-of movement of the gluing device, an( cause the gluing device to move for a limited distance in a straight path, a lockin member which normally engages the sai cam to hold it in a somewhat retracted position,a movable carton carrying member, means controlled by a carton carried by said carton carrying member to release said lock, and means which when said lock is released causes the cam to move to a position fartaway from the axis of rotation of the spider, whereby the straight line movement of the gluing member takes place in a line farther removed from the axis of rotation of the spider than when said cam is in its locked position.

27. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a spring-seated slide mounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis of rotation of said spider, a gluing member carried by said slide, a cam pivotally connected at one end to the 'fixed part of the machine, a projection on said slide which during the rotation of the spider engages said cam, said cam being formed with a curved face of such form that when. said projection rides on said curved face the said slide is caused-to move radially inward and thereby compensate for the normally curved path of travel of the gluing member carried by the slide, and a member carried by said spider which also engages with said cam during an intermediate portion of the engagement of said pro- ,jection on the slide with said cam, whereby the said gluing device is caused to move in a retracted path for a predetermined distance.

28. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of a carton, the combination of a stationary forming block upon which the carton is held, a rotary carrier, flap folders and flap gluing rolls mounted on said carrier, the said rotary carrier during its rotation on its axis causin the flap folders to fold two end flaps of t e carton against the block and causing the gluing rolls to pass over the folded flaps and apply a layer of glue thereto, both the flap folders and the gluing rolls passing over and continuin beyond the end face of the block after t eir separate functions are performed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE A. 'ROBINSON.