US2935917A

US2935917A - Carton forming machine

Info

Publication number: US2935917A
Application number: US729448A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Arthur E Randles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-04-18
Filing date: 1958-04-18
Publication date: 1960-05-10
Anticipated expiration: 1977-05-10

Description

May 10, 1960 A. E. RANDLES, JR

CARTON FORMING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 18, 1958 INVENTOR. ARTHUR E RANDLES, JR.

A TTOPNEYS May 10, 1960 A. E. RANDLES, JR 2,935,917

CARTON FORMING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1958 6 She ets-Sheet 2 l o 0 l3 F/G 4 lol I02 1 IO8 INVENTOR.

ARTHUR E. HANDLES, JR

A 7' TOPNEJ S May 10, 1960 A. E. RANDLES, JR 2,935,917

CARTON FORMING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1958 e Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR. ARTHUR E. RANDLES, JR.

W yaw A 7' TORNEVS May 10, 1960 A. E. RANDLES, JR

CARTON FORMING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 18, 1958 R. m m m RI'HU/P E RANDLES, JR. W a W May 10, 1960 A. E. RANDLES, JR

CARTON FORMING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 18, 1958 INVENTOR. .64/?THU/P E. HANDLES, JR.

A TTO/PNEVS May 10, 1960 A. E. RANDLES, JR

CARTON FORMING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. ARTHUR E RANDLEZS, JR.

A T TORNE VS i nitedi rates Patent 6 CARTON FORMING MACHINE Arthur E. Randles, Jr., Redwood City, Calif., assiguor of one-half to Fred E. Helmick Application April 18, 1958, Serial No. 729,448

' 8 Claims. (Cl. 93-37) The invention relates to machines for setting up paper or chip-board cartons supplied in knocked-down or collapsed form and, more particularly, to apparatus for forming egg cartons of the type shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 659,044, filed May 14, 1957.

High-speed automatic machines for setting up egg cartons have long been known and used. -Most, if not all, of such machines, however, have been subject to occasional jamming during the folding operation, owing especially to the bowing of both panels of the collapsed carton during the critical step of forming the two panels into hollow box form.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a carton forming machine which is especially free from jamming.

It is another object of the invention to provide a machine capable of rapidly and accurately folding cartons of the kind shown and described in said co-pending application.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a machine which is close-coupled, is compact and requires but a small amount of floor space. 7

It is still another object of the invention to provide an egg carton forming machine which is relatively economical and which is therefore within the financial reach of even fairly small egg packing establishments.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a carton forming machine whose output can readily be varied to any desired speed between 20 to 60 or more cartons per minute and which can, therefore, be adjusted to match a production lines speed, if desired.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improved carton forming machine.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation;

Figure 2. is a plan, a portion of the top cover being broken away to disclose a portion of the interior mechan1sm;

Figure 3 is a plan of a knocked-down form of eggcarton;

Figure 4 is a side view of the egg carton shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side view, to an enlarged scale, of the carton delivery mechanism;

.Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective of the carton retaining wall and delivery structure;

Figure 7 is a side view of the carton pre-forming and panel hooking mechanism;

Figure 8 is a side view of the carton forming mechanism;

Figure 9 is a perspective of an egg carton illustrating the structure of the panel pre-forming and booking fingers and the relation thereto of the carton forming fingers, shown in outline, in forming the carton into hollow box form, shown in outline;

2,935,917 Fatented May 10, 1960 mechanism;

Figure 13 is a side view, partially in section, and to an enlarged scale of the partition folding structure; and Figure 14 is a rear perspective of an egg carton in the formed condition in which the carton leaves the forming machine.

While the carton forming machine of the invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments, depending on the enviroment and the requirements of use, considerable numbers of the herein shown and described embodiments have been made and have been used in forming several million egg cartons, and all have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner.

The carton forming machine of the invention, generally designated by the numeral 11, comprises a generally cubical housing 12, or framework, including a plurality of corner posts 13 and on opposite sides a pair of vertical columns 14 as well as a pair of inclined columns 16. A plurality of marginally located top members 17 and bottom members 18 provides additional rigidity to the structure. J Serving conveniently as a storage location for several stacks of the carton in knocked-down or collapsed form,

the carton being designated by the numeral 21 in Figures 3 and 4, and acting, as well as a protective element, is a cover or cover plate 22, mounted on the top of the framework. Protruding downwardly through the cover plate 22 in a generally central location therein is a hopper structure 23 adapted to hold or store, and gravitally feed a plurality of the cartons 21 into the machine.

As can be seen most clearly by reference to Figures 1 and 2, the hopper structure 23 includes a pair of inclined bottom rails 26 adapted to support the bottom edge of the knocked-down carton 21 as indicated by the rod elements 26 shown in sectional outline in Figure 3. A comparable pair of side rails 27 spaced apart slightly in excess of the distance from one end of the carton to the other serves to maintain the cartons in lateral registry as they proceed downwardly in the hopper. An inclined plate 28 below the hopper rails prevents dust, die-cutting debris and other extraneous matter from falling onto the internal mechanism.

The rails extend from a conveniently located upper supporting structure 29 downwardly to an inclined carton retaining wall 31, the lower ends of the rails being spaced from the wall 31 by an amount very slightly in excess of the maximum or total thickness of the carton 21 shown in Figure 4, the total thickness being substantially twice the thickness of the paper or board stock itself. A relay type of switch 32 is inserted in the hopper bottom 28 spaced about an inch or two from the retaining wall 31. When the switch 32 is depressed by the weight of overlying cartons the machines driving motor circuit is closed. When, however, there remains only a few cartons in the hopper, and the switch 32 is no longer depressed by the weight of superposed cartons, the motor circuit opens and the machine stops. This serves as a signal to the operator to insert adidtiona-l cartons in the hopper. b

The retaining wall 31 is mounted on the inclined pair of, columns 16 and serves not only to retain the cartons disposed in the hopper but also to support the cartons as they are moved, one at a time, from the hopper, or

is confined on one side by the retain-ing wall 31 and on 3 the other side by a positioning plate 37 parallel to and spaced from the retaining wall by approximately twice the thickness of the carton stock, as appears most clearly in Figures 5 and 13.

Meohanism is provided for separating one carton at a time from the pile of cartons in the hopper and for transporting the single carton downwardly between the retaining wall 31 and the positioning plate 37 to the carton forming station 36. This mechanism, generally designated by the numeral 41, includes a pair ofdelivery arms 42 afiixed to a cross-shaft 43 pivotally mounted in a pair of bearings 44 secured to the vertical columns. 14. Oscillating motion of the delivery arms 42 is effected by pivotally connecting a link 46 to the end of one of the delivery arms distant from the retaining wall 31. The link 46, as appears most clearly in Figure 5, is pivotally connected at its lower end to a pin 47 disposed in a groove 48 in one face of a delivery cam 49. Also pivotally mounted on the cam pin 47 is a rocker arm 51 secured to a freely rotatable shaft 52.

The cam 49, along with an array of other cams later to be described, is mounted on a camshaft 56 suitably journalled in a pair of bearings 57 mounted on a pair of supports 58 extending between the vertical columns 14 and the adjacent corner posts 13 on opposite sides of the machine framework.

Rotating the camshaft 56 in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow 59 in Figure 5 is a motor 61 acting through a power transmitting train including a belt 62 reeved about a conventional variable speed pulley 63 and a fixed diameter idler pulley 64 secured to an idler cross-shaft 66 appropriately journalled in a pair of bear ings 67 mounted on a pair of framework supports 68. Also mounted on the idler cross-shaft 66 and rotatable therewith is an idler wheel 71 having reeved thereabout a belt 72 reeved about a larger wheel 73 mounted on a cross-shaft 74 suitably journalled in a pair of bearings 76 mounted on the columns 14.

Rotation of the cross-shaft 74 is imparted to the camshaft 56 by a chain 77 reeved about a sprocket 78 on the cross-shaft 74 and a somewhat larger sprocket 79 mounted on the camshaft 56.

Obviously, the relative sizes of the various pulleys, wheels and sprockets comprising the train are selected in accordance with well-known principles to effect the desired ratio between the motor speed and the camshaft speed. The variable speed pulley 63 inserted in the train permits the operator to select any desired camshaft speed since, by suitable rotation of a handwheel 81, the motor 61 can be moved to any desired longitudinal location on a jackscrew 82, with which the motor is in engagement, the amount of tension thereby exerted on the belt 62 being determinative of the efiective diameter of the variable speed pulley 63 in well-known fashion. Conveniently, the relative sizes of the train elements and the characteristics of the motor and the variable speed pulley are selected so that machine production speed can be varied between twenty to sixty, or even more, cartons per minute.

By reference to Figures 5 and 6 it can be seen that rotation of the camshaft 56, on which the cam 49 is eccentrically mounted, effects an upward and downward motion of therocker arm 51 between the locations shown in full line and in outline in Figure 5. Corresponding attitudes of the link 46 and the delivery arms 42 are likewise apparent in Figure 5.

Extending outwardly from the distal end of each of the delivery arms 42 is: pin 86 protruding through the gap between a pair of, rods 87 suitablyniounted on a sled 88 provided at each end with a shoe 89 vertically slidable in a track 91 on each end of the retaining wall 31. Consequently, as the delivery arms swing downwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow 92 in Figure 5, the pins 86 urge the sled 88 downwardly in 4 the direction of the arrow 93, the upstroke of the arms reversing the direction of movement of the sled 88.

Accompanying the sled is a pair of delivery fingers 96, the fingers 96 each including an inclined, somewhat resilient, spring leaf portion 97 extending through a slot 98 in the retaining wall and a bent plate 99 mounted on the lower end of the leaf portion 97 in an attitude substantially parallel to the slope of the retaining wall.

The plate 99'is at a location such that the lower edge of the port on 97 forms an overhang, or lip 100.

The lip is adapted to engage with a ledge 101 on the adjacent one of the cartons 21 in the hopper, the ledge 101 being formed by the upper edge of the adjacent folded panel 102 of the carton 21, as appears in Figures 3 and 4. The adjacent panel 102 is sharply folded about a fold line 103 and is glued to the remote or cover panel 104 along a glue strip 106.

A plurality of transverse partitions 107 is die cut into the adjacent or near panel 102 and a plurality of supporting legs 108 is struck out from the panel 102. Die cut into the back or cover panel 104, as appears most clearly in Figure 9 is a plurality of roughly diamond-shaped apertures 111 connected at each end, by a pair of slits 112, to a pair of quadrilateral openings 113. A plurality of supporting legs 114 is cut into the back panel 104 and informed carton condition, as appears in Figure 14, the

legs

108 and 114 are disposed in mirror symmetry and serve to support the central portion of the carton.

As appears most clearly in Figure 5, at the top of the delivery arm stroke, the overhang of the delivery fingers is located just above the ledge 101 of the adjacent carton. Thus, when the delivery arm swings downwardly, the overhang 100 engages the ledge 101 and pushes the carton downwardly between the retaining wall 31 and the position plate 37 until the end of the stroke is reached. At this juncture the carton 21 is in the location shown in outline in Figure 5 and the delivery arms, after dwelling in lowermost position while subsequent operations, to be described, take place, are returned to uppermost position preparatory to delivering the next carton.

The delivered carton 21 is lodged rather securely between the retaining wall 31 and the positioning plate 37 owing to the fact that the space therebetween is snugly filled by the combined thicknesses of the gluing strip 106 and the back panel 104, as is shown most'clearly in Figure 13. Furthermore, the lip 100 continues to dwell for a time on top of the carton ledge 101, holding the carton in place. Consequently, subsequent operations can be performed on the portions of the carton located below the bottom edge 121 of the retaining wall 31, the upward thrusts encountered in some of the subsequent operations being resisted by the lip 100.

The first of such operations is that of pre-breaking or pro-forming the carton to facilitate the subsequent operations and to prevent the possibility of jamming that so frequently occurs in machines of the kind heretofore used.

re-forming is accomplished by the insertion, as in Figure 9, through at least two of the diamond-shaped apertures 111 of a pair of hooks 123 each comprising a shank portion 124 and at the distal end an upturned hook 126, or tip. Reference to Figure 7 most clearly shows that the hooks are actuated by oscillating motion of a shaft 127 to which the hooks are secured. Mounted on the back end of the shank 124 of one of the hooks is.

a block 128 to which is pivotally mounted a link 129 pivotally connected to a cam pin 131 disposed in a groove 132 in a hook earn 133. A rocker arm 134 mounted at one end on a rotatable shaft 136 and at the other end on the cam pin 131 oscillates between the two locations shown in Figure 7 and the hooks 123 are actuated so as to move between the normal position shown in outline and the pre-breaking or pre-forming location shown in full line.

assasir As the hooks swing upwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow 141 the hook tips 126 swing'upwardly and through the corresponding apertures 111 in the back panel 104 and abut the rear surface of the front panel 102, causing the front panel 102 to bow or bulge outwardly and away from the back panel 104, as appears most clearly in Figures 7 and *9.

A pre-breaking or pre-forming of the two panels of the carton is thereby effected so that when the kicker feet 143, or forming fingers, of the forming mechanism 144 are made operative there is no possibility of jamming. It is to be noted that in the event the front panel 102 and the back panel 104 were allowed to remain in face to face relation, and were not bowed apart, that as the tips 146 of the kickers 143 passed though the diamend-shaped apertures 111 and into contact with the back surface of the front panel 102 at a high rate of speed that both panels would tend to bow outwardly in unison. The suction" at the interface of the two panels, or the electro-staticattraction of one for the other, to cite two possible explanations, is frequently capable of overcoming the rigidity of the back panel and causes both of the panels to bend inwardly and to cause jamming.

Where, however, the hooks 123 effect a preliminary outward bowing of the front panel 102 and then remain momentarily in position while the kickers move in, complete separation of the two panels is achieved. The reason for this is that as the panels are urged upwardly by the kickers 143 in the direction indicated by the arrow 148 in Figure 9, the tips 126 of the hooks 123 momentarily engage the inner surface of the back panel 104 and momentarily drag or delay the movement of the back panel whereas the front panel is being swung upwardly. The drag provided by the hooks is only momentary since the hooks are soondisengaged from the back panel but the delay is sufiicient to cause complete separation of the panels and to effect proper forming of the panels into the hollow box configuration shown most clearly in Figures 8 and 9.

The forming or kicker mechanism, generally designated by the numeral 144, is actuated by a forming earn 151 mountedon the cam shaft 56, a pin 152 riding in a track 153 and rocking an am 154 on a shaft 156. Pivotally mounted on the pin 152 is a link 157 pivot-ally attached to one of a pair of kicking legs 158 secured to a shaft 159, the legs being swingable from a normal position shown in outline in Figure 8 in the direction indicated by the arrow 161 to the forming location shownin full line. Y

It is apparent that upon retraction of the kickers the natural resiliency of the carton material tends to return the carton to a parallelogram type of configuration. Consequently, mechanism is provided for holding or clamping the carton in full box-like section. This clamping mechanism is generally designated by the numeral 163 and appears most clearly in Figures and 13.

Included in the clamping mechanism 163, which also serves as a carton stripping or ejecting mechanism acting to remove the carton upon completion, is a cam 166 mounted on the camshaft 56 and having a groove 167 in which travels a pin 168. Pivotally mounted on the pin is a rocker 169 on a shaft 171. Pivotally attached to the rocker 169 is a link 172 pivotally secured to a lever 173 aflixed to a shaft 174. Also afiixed to the shaft 174 is a pair of arms 176, the arms 176 being swingable between the location shown in full line and the position shown in outline in Figure 10.

Extending between the pair of arms 176 is a suitably journalled shaft 177 having mounted thereon a pair of clamping hooks 178, the hooks each including a flattened tip 179 adapted to be swung over the upper edge of the outer wall 181 of the egg carton immediately after the forming arms have opened the .carton into the hollow box form and to clamp the upper margin of the carton wall 181 to maintain the hollow box shape.

In the uppermost position of the arms 176, as appears in Figure 10, the hook tips 179 are open, a tension member, such as a spring 182 shown in Figure 13, urging the tips 179 away from the upper margin of the carton wall 181 so that there is no interference with said upper margin as the forming fingers bend the carton wall 181 upwardly to form the outer wall of the box.

Immediately thereafter, the cam pin 168 enters a position 183 of the cam groove and the arm 169 is rocked somewhat in the direction indicated by the arrow 184. This results in a slight downward angular movement of the arms 176, the arms 176 moving enough to dislodge from an indentation 186 in the upper end of a cam plate 187, as appears in Figures 1 and 10, a roller 188 mounted on the end of a lever 189 secured to the adjacent end of the shaft 177. As can be seen most clearly in Figure 10, dislodgment of the roller 188 from the indentation causes the clamping tips to move into clamping engagement with the upper inner margin of the carton wall 181, clamping continuing during the period the 'cam pin 168 dwells in the substantially circular groove portion 183. of the cam 166.

During the period in which clamping is effected, folding of the transverse carton partitions 107-into vertical attitude and forming and tucking of the central longitudinal inverted V-shaped rib takes place, as will presently be described.

With particular reference to Figures 12 and 13 it can be seen that an upper set or plurality of partition folding plates 191 is provided, each of the upper plates being 'pivotally mounted on and extending between a vertical outer wall 192 and a vertical inner wall 193, the plates being rockable about a pair of pins 194. In normal position, each of the upper plates is inclined at the attitude shown in Figure 12. The upper plates 191 are swung into vertical attitude by the movement in a righthand direction, as shown in Figure 12, of an upper bar 196 having mounted on the right-hand end thereof a roller 197 urged against the outer configured edge of an upper bar cam 198 by a tension spring 199 secured at one end to the right-hand corner post 13 and slidably mounted at the other end on a stud 200 mounted on the upper bar 196. v T v The spring 199 urges the roller 197 against the cam 198 which is rotated by a cam shaft 201 which, in turn, as appears most clearly in Figures 1 and 2, is rotated, through a universal joint 202,by a shaft 203 having a bevel gear 204 in engagement with a bevel gear 206 mounted on the main cam shaft 56. Thus, as the cam shaft 201 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 211 the upper bar earn 198 is correspondingly rotated and the upper bar 196 translates back and forth under urgency of the cam configuration and the spring 199.

As the bar 196 moves in a right-hand direction, as appears in Figure 12, the upper portion of each of the upper plates is rocked upwardly and toward the right by virtue of a pin connection 212 existing between the bar 196 and each of the upper plates. Conveniently, the pin 212 is secured to the bar and projects into a small hollow box-like frame 213 attached to the upper side of each of the upper plates. This construction permits the bar to operate in rocking the plates 19'1 even though the upper portion of each of the plates swings through an arc and moves between an inclined and a vertical attitude while the bar moves only horizontally.

In a somewhat comparable fashion, a plurality of lower plates 221 are moved between the inclined position shown in Figure 12 to the vertical attitude appearing in Figure 13. Each of the lower plates is rockably mounted on a pair of pivot pins 222, one on the front wall 192 and the other on the rear wall 193. Disposed within an open box 226 mounted on the side of each of the lower plates is a pin 227 secured to a lower bar 231 extending toward a lower bar cam 232 mounted on the cam shaft 201, the lower bar being oscillated in a horizontal direction by reason of a cam pin 233 pivotally mounted on the lower bar and riding in a cam groove 234 in the face of the cam 232.

The upper 'bar cam 198 and the lower bar cam 232 are so configured that the lower bar 231 is urged toward the left, as appears in Figure 12, slightly prior to the time the upper bar 196 is urged toward the right. Consequently, the lower plates 221 are swung into a vertical attitude just before the upper plates are so positioned. Consequently, when the lower portion (the portion below the pivot pins 222) of each of the lower plates swings downwardly against the corresponding transverse partition 107 and bends the partition into vertical attitude, the partition is confined on both sides by plates, on one side by a lower plate and on the other side by an upper plate.

It will be noted that each of the upper plates 191 has formed therein acent ral archsha'ped opening 241 slightly wider than a crown-shaped member 242 surmounting the lower plate 221. Consequently, there is no interference between the upper and the lower plates as they swing between their extreme positions.

In addition to confining the carton partitions the upper and lower plates also serve to cooperate in forming the central triangular inverted V-shaped rib structure designated by the numeral 251'and shown most clearly in Figures 11 and l3. As can be seen in Figure 13, each of the upper plates 191 includes a pair of inwardly ex tending arms 253 terminating in opposed inclined edges 254 separated by an amount very closely equal to the desired final dimension of the rib member 251 at its approximately central vertical location. Each of the lower plates 221 includes, adjacent its lower portion, a left-hand or large wing 256 and a right-hand or small wing 257, as appears in Figure 13. The wings are separated by a curved opening 258 substantially coincident with theinclined edges 254 for a portion of. its length and terminating in an upper aperture 259 partially located in the crown portion 242 of the lower plate 221.

The upper plates and lower plates are so configured, in fact, that they co-act with the rib-forming and tucking mechanism, generally characterized by the numeral 261, and shown most clearly in Figure 11, to complete the carton erection by folding the bottom 262 of the hollow box shown in Figure upwardly into final form.

The rib-forming mechanism 261 includes a cam 266, provided with a cam groove 267, mounted on the cam shaft 56 and rotating in the direction of the arrow 59. Riding in the groove 267 is a pin 268 on the end of a rocker arm 269 on a shaft 271; a link 272 is pivotally mounted on one end on the arm 269 and at the other end on a block 273 secured to one of a pair of legs 276 movable between the positions shown in full line and in outline, in Figure 11, in the directions indicated by the arrow 277. The legs 276 are secured to and rotate in unison with a shaft 273.

Mounted on the distal end of the leg 276 is a plurality of sharpened toe members 279 adapted to engage the carton bottom along a central bottom fold line 281 at locations between each of the diamond-shaped apertures 111, as appears in Figure 9.

The'toes, as they contact the carton bottom. and swing upwardly, cause the bottom to bend upwardly. The fold line 281 forms the apex of the inverted V-shaped rib 251, the lower margin of the rib 251 being defined by a secondary pair of fold lines 282, as appears in Figures 9 and 13. Continued upward movement of the rib forces or tucks the rib slits 112 upwardly past the central band 283 in the corresponding transverse partitions 107, the partitions being confined in the meanwhile between the upper and lower plates, and into the position shown in Figure 13. I

At this juncture, the rib is fully formed and tucked and the toes 279 are retracted. Substantially concurrently the carton clamping and ejecting mechanism again is ac tivated by the motion of the cam 166 and the carton is removed from its forming station 36 and is carried to a stacking bin 301 located at the position shown in Figure 1.

Removal from the forming station is effected by the downward motion of the legs 176, shown in Figures 1 and 10, the legs 176 carrying not only the clamping hooks 178 which clamp the cartons front wall against a backing member 302 but also a bail 303 extending between the distal ends of the legs 176.

Thus, both the clamping hook 178 and the bail 303 act to strip the carton and to carry it toward the preceding carton in the bin 301. Adjacent the lower end of the cam 187, an indentation 311 is provided, as shown in Figures 1 and 10. As the roller 188 enters the indentation 311, the link 189 is rocked, permitting the spring 182 to move the clamping hook 179 into open or disengaging position. The clamping and ejecting arms are thereupon returned to uppermost position, the indentation 311 being long enough in extent so that the clamp 178 remains in open position long enough for the clamp to clear the carton front wall.

At this juncture the delivery arms have fed the next carton blank and the next cycle has commenced.

What is claimed is:

l. A carton forming machine comprising: a housing; an inclined hopper on said housing adapted to store a plurality of unformed egg cartons, each carton including a far wall recurved upon and glued along a .strip to a near wall, said near wall having formed therein a plurality of apertures; means for delivering one unformed carton only at a time from said hopper to a predetermined location within said housing; means insertable through at least one of said apertures in said near wall and into abutment with said far wall for separating said near wall and said far wall, said separating means including a hook movable to a location behind and adjacent the rear face of said near wall; means insertable through others of said apertures in said near wall and into abutment with said far wall for urging said far wall into expanded, hollow box form, said hook on said separating means being in concurrent engagement with the rear face of said near wall for restraining the movement thereof as said far wall is urged away from said near wall; means for folding the transverse partitions in an egg carton into formed condition; and means for removing a formed carton from said housing.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said carton wall separating means includes a shank, a hook having an offset tip mounted on the distal end of said shank, and means for inserting said hook through an adjacent one of said apertures in said near wall at an oblique angle to the plane of said near wall whereby said hook abuts said far wall and said tip underlies said near wall.

3. A carton forming machine comprising a housing; a hopper on said housing adapted to store in substantially vertical attitude a plurality of unformed egg cartons, each including a near wall and a far wall joined at the bottom, said far wall extending upwardly in parallel relation to said near wall and terminating below the upper edge of said near wall to provide a ledge, said far wall being glued toxsaid near wall adjacent said ledge; vertically reciprocating means engageable with said ledge for delivering the adjacent one of said cartons downwardly to a carton forming station below said hopper; means for frictionally supporting said walls of said carton whereby'said carton is restrained against the downward force of gravity while located at said forming station; means for holding said carton against upward movement as forming occurs; and means for stripping said carton from said forming station.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said carton holding means and said carton stripping means include: an oscillating arm having mounted thereon a bail extending over the top of one side of said carton in formed condition thereof; and a hook rockably mounted on said arm and movable in dependence on the location of said arm between a first position removed from the other side of said carton and a second position in clamping engagement with said other side of said carton, said bail and said hook being eifect-ive to restrain said carton against upward.

movement in an upper attitude of said arm and being effective to support said carton as said carton is stripped downwardly from said forming station.

5. A machine for forming an egg carton having in formed condition thereof elements including a vertical front side wall, a vertical rear side wall, and a plurality of vertical partitions extending perpendicularly between said side walls, said machine comprising: means for storing a plurality of unformed cartons; means for delivering one unformed carton at a time from said storing means to a forming station; means for partially forming an unformed carton into hollow box form wherein said partitions are in horizontal attitude; and means for thereafter simultaneously rotating each of said partitions from horizontal to vertical attitude, said partitionrotating means including a plurality of upper plates each rotatably mounted to swing between a substantially horizontal position and a vertical position, and a plurality of lower plates each rotatably mounted to swing between a substantially horizontal position and a verticalposition, one of said lower plates being disposed on one side of a corresponding one of said partitions and one of said upper plates being disposed on the other side of a corresponding one of said partitions as said partitions are disposed in vertical attitude, said partition rotating means further including an upper plate rotating bar, and a lower plate rotating bar, each of said bars being cam-actuated, and each of said bars being rockably connected, respectively, with said upper plates and said lower plates, said lower plate bar being actuated prior to said upper plate bar whereby said lower plates eifect rotation of said partitions prior to movement of said upper plates.

6. The device of claim wherein the lower portion of said upper plates vertically overlaps the upper portion of said lower plates, and wherein said overlapping portions are each formed with a substantially central vertical opening adapted to receive and guide a tucked longitudinal central rib of a formed egg carton.

7. A canton forming machine comprising a housing, means adjacent the top of said housing for storing a plurality of unformed egg cartons, a carton forming station adjacent the central portion of said housing, a carton ejecting station adjacent the bottom of said housing, and means for stripping a formed egg carton from said forming station and for moving a formed egg carton to said ejecting station, said carton stripping and moving means including an arm pivotally mounted on said housing to swing between an upper position adjacent said forming station and a lower position adjacent said ejecting station,

a cam mounted on said housing, said cam having a track arcuately extending from said forming station downwardly to said ejecting station and being provided with a depression at the top and at the bottom thereof, a roller rockably mounted on said arm and in engagement with said track, a hook mounted on said arm, means for swinging said hook in dependence on the position of said roller in said track, said hook being movable between a first position for clamping engagement with a wall of a formed egg canton and a second position removed therefrom, and means for swinging said arm between said upper and said lower position whereby said hookis rocked between said first position and said second position.

8. The device of claim 7 further characterized by a bail mounted on the distal end of said arm, said bail extending over the top of a formed egg carton adjacent the side of a carton opposite the side engaged by said rockable hook, said bail andsaid hook being capable of resisting upward forces exerted on the bottom of an eg canton and being capable of urging a formed egg carton from said forming station to said ejecting station.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS J d n Feb- 1, 1955