US3815320A

US3815320A - Wrapping machine

Info

Publication number: US3815320A
Application number: US00296326A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Ganz
Original assignee: Federal Paper Board Co Inc
Current assignee: Federal Paper Board Co Inc
Priority date: 1972-10-10
Filing date: 1972-10-10
Publication date: 1974-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-11
Also published as: FR2202007A1; JPS4993192A; JPS5414991B2; GB1446926A; FR2202007B1; NL7313945A; CA1006798A; AU6115673A

Abstract

An apparatus for packaging successive assemblies of beverage bottles, which are advanced in double row and transversely paired arrangement, the apparatus being adapted to employ a cut and scored blank of foldable sheet material which is characterized by a top wall forming panel, adjoining side wall forming panels and bottom wall forming end panels, the latter having in the free margins, locking tabs and co-operating tab receiving apertures and the side wall forming panels having small triangular end wall forming panels hinged adjacent the bottom of the end edges with bottom extension panels which are adapted to be trapped between the bottoms of the end bottles and the bottom wall in the completed package, the apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveyors traveling in a horizontal plane on opposite sides of the path of bottle assemblies which are advanced with a partially folded blank deposited on each assembly, the conveyors having mounted thereon spaced carriages supporting a plurality of fingers which are cam operated to move into engagement with the bottle and blank assemblies from opposite sides thereof so as to fold into proper position the end wall forming panels and to support the bottle and blank assemblies for advance past panel guiding and folding members which co-operate with the fingers in positioning of the bottom extension panels on the end wall forming panels and in locking the bottom wall forming panels together while the latter are drawn inwardly toward each other to insure tight engagement of the blank about the bottle assembly.

Description

United States Patent i191 Ganz '[111- 3,815,320 [4 June 11, 1974 WRAPPING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Robert H. Ganz, Saddle River, NJ.

' [73] Assignee: Federal Paper Board Company, Inc.,

[52] U.S. Cl. 53/48, 53/209 [51] Int. Cl B651) 21/06, B65b 21/24 [58] Field of Search 53/32, 48, 49, 209

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,045,401 7/1962 Ganz.....- 53/48 3,197,937 8/1965 Ganz 53/48 3,303,631 2/1967 Ganz 53/48 3,474,590 -l0/l969 Ganz 53/48 X 12/1970 Cato 53/209 X Prirhary ExaminerRobert L. Spruill Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Guy A. Greenawalt being adapted to employ acut and scored blank of foldable sheet material which is characterized by a top wall forming panel, adjoining side wall forming panels and bottom wall forming end panels, the latter having in the free margins, locking tabs and co-operating tab receiving apertures and the side wall forming panels having small triangular end wall forming panels hinged adjacent the bottom of the end edges with bottom extension panels which are adapted to be trapped between the bottoms of the end bottles and the bottom wall in the completed package, the apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveyors traveling in a horizontal plane on opposite sides of thepath of bottle assemblieswhich are advanced with a partially folded blank deposited on each assembly, the conveyors having mounted thereon spaced carriages supporting a plurality of fingers which are cam operated to move into engagement with the bottle and blank assemblies from opposite sides thereof so as to fold into proper position the end wall forming panels and to support the bottle and blank assemblies for advance past panel guiding and folding members which co-operate with the fingers in positioning of the bottom extension panels on the end wall forming panels and in locking the bottom wall forming panels together while the latter are drawn inwardly toward each other to insure tight engagement of the blank about the bottle assembly.

20 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PATENTEBJUN 1 I ma sum HP 7 Min PAiENTEflJun 1 an SHEEIZUF 7 AMWWM ill x M Q l v PATENTEB I mm 38153320 SHEET 5 [IF 7 v "ll/Ill WRAPPING MACHINE This invention relates to packaging machines and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a machine having mechanism for applying wrap around type blanks of foldable sheet material to assemblies of beverage bottles or similar articles wherein the blanks are deposited on successive groups of the articles and foldedabout the same with bottom wall forming panels locked beneath the articles while the blank is drawn tightly about the same.

Machinery has heretofore been developed for applying to assemblies or clusters of beverage bottles, or similar articles, a cut and scored blank of foldable sheet material so as to form a package with the blank constituting a tightly drawn tubular wrapper or carrier for the articles.

Generally, the prior machines have taken the form of apparatus for folding a generally rectangular blank about the top, sides and bottom of successive assemblies of the bottles or other articles which are advanced on a traveling conveyor with some arrangement for locking the end panels on the blanks in bottom wall forming relation. Apparatus of this character which has been employed sucessfully for volume production is disclosed in my U.S. Pats. No. 3,187,479 granted June 8, 1965 and US. Pat. No. 3,474,590 granted Oct. 28, 1969. However, the development of new and improved forms of wrapper blanks having supplemental panels for confining the bottles or the like more effectively has made it necessary to design new forms of apparatus for handling the blanks. It is a general object therefore, of the present invention to provide an improved packaging machine which will encase successive clusters or assemblies of beverage bottles, or similar articles, in a wrapper or foldable sheet material having supplemental end wall forming panels, or the like which will operate with a high degree of efficiency and which can be constructed with sufficient economy to encourage its use as a replacement for existing machinery.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved packaging machine for applying wrap around type blanks of paperboard or similar sheet material to assemblies of beverage bottles or similar articles wherein successive assemblies of a predetermined number of the articles are arranged in double row and transversely paired alignment and advanced to the machine with a wrapper blank positioned on each assembly. which has side and bottom wall forming panels depending along the sides of the assembly, and wherein the machine comprises a pair of endless traveling conveyors having opposed runs arranged on opposite sides of the path of advance of the article and blank assemblies, with spaced carriages thereon which are equipped with panel engaging means and with means for moving the same to a position for engaging portions of the blank in predetermined succession so as to fold certain of the panels in proper sequence into package forming relation while advancing the same along said ath.

p A further object of the invention is to provide a machine for use in packaging articles by applying a cut and scored wraparound type wrapper blank of paper board or similar foldable sheet material to a group of the articles which are arranged in row alignment, with a wrapper blank deposited on the top of the articles and having side and bottom wall forming panels depending articles and certain of said fingers having means to support the articles while the group of articles isadvanced along the work path.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved machine of the type described wherein an assembly of row aligned bottles or similar articles are enclosed in a wraparound type wrapper blank which machine comprises a series of carriages carrying blank engaging fingers which are mounted on each of a pair of horizontally disposed endless conveyors, which conveyors are arranged with a run thereof on opposite sides of a work path, means for moving the carriages to bring the fingers into engagement. with vertically disposed panels of a blank which is advanced on the top of a group of containers and to position certain of the fingers beneath the articles so as to convey said articles along said work path, and means along the work. path which are operative to position certain of the panels and to interengage locking elements on the panels.

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a machine for enclosing articles in a carton forming blank a mechanism for performing folding operations on the blank and for supporting the article and blank assembly while it is advanced along a work path which comprises a pair of endless traveling conveyors distion in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, largely diagrammatic,

showing the apparatus for packaging a cluster of six bottles arranged in double row formation by wrapping about the same a precut, prescored paperboard blank;

.FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, with portions omitted;

FIG. .3 is a horizontalsectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the carriages and associated folders for closing and connecting the bottom wall forming panels of the package; 7

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2, to a larger scale;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 2, to a larger scale;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 2, to a larger scale;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 1010 of FIG. 9; I

FIG. 11 is .a cross sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of FIG. 2;

. FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 1212 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 13-13 of FIG. 12, to a still larger scale;

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 1'4--14 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary View showing a portion of FIG. 1, to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a cut and scored paperboard blank which the apparatus of FIG. 1 is adapted to wrap about a cluster of bottles;

, FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the completed package which the apparatus of FIG. 1 is adapted to from; and

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the bottom portion of the packagewrapper, the bottles being omitted and the side walls being broken away so as to show the inside face of the bottom portion of the package.

Referring first to FIGS. 16 to 18, there is illustrated a cut and scored paperboard blank a which is adapted to be formed into the package by the apparatus of the present invention, the completed package being shown in FIG. 17. The blank a conforms, except as noted, to the blank shown in my copending application Ser. No.

' 203,156, filed Nov. 30, 1971 and now US. Pat. No.

3,767,042. It is cut and scored to provide a center panel b which is adapted to form the top wall of the bottle package, as shown in FIG. 1, and adjoining side wall panels and d together with bottom wall forming panels e and f. The top wall panel b is provided with apertures g in spaced, paired arrangement longitudinally of the blank, and transversely aligned and spaced according to the spacing of the pairs of bottles h. The top wall forming panel b is also provided with identification panels i at opposite sides of the blank and finger gripping holes j. At the juncture of the side wall panels 0 and d with the bottom wall forming panels e and f transversely spaced apertures k are provided which are aligned with the pairs of bottles and which are adapted to accommodate compression fingers forming part of the apparatus. A locking panel I is hinged at the free margins of the bottom wall forming panel f and provided with locking tongues or tabs m and latching tongues or fingers n which are also adapted to serve as separators for the bottom portions of the bottles in each pair thereof. The bottom wall forming panel e is provided adjacent its free margin with apertures 0 for co-operation with the locking tongues m and latching fingers n and these panels may be termed female and male panels, respectively. Small triangular-shaped end wall panels p are hinged to bottom portions of side edges of the side wall panels c and d. Each triangular panel p is provided with an integrally hinged bottom end panel q which is designed to be positioned on the bottom wall beneath an end bottle and which is notched at 'r for hooked engagement with an upstanding divider forming finger n, as shown in FIG. 18. Except for the shape and arrangement of the panels 1 the blank a corresponds to the blank shown in FIG. of co pending application Ser. No. 203,156, and is adapted for encasing a cluster of six bottles to form the package of FIG. 17.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the illustrated apparatus is adapted to wrap the blanks a about successive assemblies or groups of beverage bottles h which are seggregated into clusters of six bottles in double row formation on a multiple chain conveyor and advanced through a series'of work stations identified by letters A to I. The wrapper blanks a are fed from a supply hopper by an overhead feed assembly (not shown) and deposited on each successive cluster of bottles h as the latter are advanced by conveyor 10. The blanks a are laid down on the tops of the bottles h and the side wall panels are folded down into generally vertical planes with the bottom wall forming panels e and f depending below the bottle assembly where they are guided by a chain mounted guide assembly 12 as each bottle and blank assembly advances through stations B and C. On opposite sides of the path of advance of the bottle assemblies and extending from stations A to I (FIGS. 1 and 2) assemblies 14F and 14M, of endless chain sup ported traveling carriages 16, are provided on each of which there is mounted a plurality of fingers for operating on the bottom portions of a partially folded blank 4 and for supporting the blank and bottle assemblies during a portion of the travel thereof. The bottle and blank assemblies are engaged by the carriage assemblies 16 from opposite sides at the stations B and C and the triangular end wall panels p with the associated panels q are moved into position preparatory to closing the bottom wall forming panels e and f upon each other. The bottle and blank assemblies are supported by the horizontally disposed fingers on the carriage assemblies 16 as they advance through stations D to H, the carriages 16 of

assemblies

14F and 14M being moved in sequence toward the assembly to bring the fingers into supporting relation beneath the bottles at station C. At station D the bottom wall forming panels e and f, which are held at stations B and C in vertical position by the guide assembly 12, are plowed into substantially closed position (FIG. 9). As each assembly advances through stations E and F it passes over an assembly 18 of endless chain carried blocks 20 forming carriages for pairs of cam actuated fingers 22 which are pivoted in the traveling blocks 20 so as to engage the leading and trailing ends of the locking panels I and swing the same to proper position for the locking tabs m to engage in the apertures 0. At the end of their pivoting movement the fingers 22 move upwardly and enter the end apertures 0 (FIGS. 11 and 12) so as to engage the extension panels q and position them for proper engagement with the latching fingers n. The weight of the bottles on the panels q will hold them in position as the assembly advances through stations G and H where the locking of the bottom flaps e and f is completed by the locking assembly 24 which engages the locking tabs m and the latching fingers n in the apertures o, the latter in upright bottle separating position. The completed package is delivered to the conveyor 26 at station I where the finger carrying carriages 16 are retracted and the completed package is freed for advance by the conveyor 26.

At the entrance end of the apparatus the multi-chain conveyor 10 (FIGS. 1 to 3) advances the bottles h in double row and transversely aligned or paired assembly and in clusters of six bottles each. Each cluster of bottles his advanced by lugs 30 on the bottle carrying of six bottles and for folding down the side wall panels the dead plate 34, the control of each assembly is taken over by a pair of co-operating carriages 16 which are mounted for horizontal movement or travel in parallel, longitudinal paths on supporting chains 36 and 36' (FIGS. 3 and 4). The chains 36 and 36' aremounted .on

end sprockets

38, and 38, 40 which are carried in paired, axially spaced relation on longitudinally spaced

cross shafts

42 and 44.

The carriages 16 on the

assemblies

14M and 14F are of identical construction and each carriage 16(FIGS. 5 to 13) comprises a channel-shaped base block 46 which is mounted on the chain 36 so that on the upper run of the chain it opens downwardly with its depending side flanges having oppositely facing grooves 48 and 48 for receiving a horizontally disposed guide rail and support member 50. The grooves 48 and 48 are of V-shaped cross section and the side edge surfaces of the guide rail 50 are complementary to the surfaces of the grooves 48 and 48'. The carriage base 46 is secured by suitable brackets to the chain 36 at a point between its depending side flanges and-has an upstanding flange formation 52 on its topmost face which is of substantial width and in which there is a pair of horizontally disand serve to control the advance of the assembly from station A to station I-I, taking over from the lugs 30 on the conveyor 10 as each bottle and blank assembly is moved onto the dead plate 34. The topmost fingers and 60 engage the triangular end panels p as they move into position and in co-operation with the bottom-most fingers 62 and'62' fold in the triangular end panels p. Fingers in the form of small plates 64 and 64' r are carried on the bottom edge of the support bar 58 adjacent the end fingers 62 and 625 which operate to fold upwardly the panels q as the triangular panels p are folded in against the end bottles h bringing the panels q into position beneath the end bottles in the assembly. The plate 58 also carries on its bottom face three-bottle supporting and wrapper tightening finger assemblies 66 which are spaced to enter the slots k at the bottom of the side walls 0 and d. Each of the bottle supporting fingers 66 is attached to the bottom edge of the supporting plate 58 together with a small rectangular plate member 68 having a forward edge 70 which is disposed beneath the fingers 66 where it will engage the inner edge of the blank aperture k and tighten the blank about the bottle assembly while moving the bottom wall forming panels e and f into partially closed position as shown in FIG. 9. The fingers 66 move beneath thebottles and support the same throughout the remainder of the path of travel. The support rods 56 for the plate 58 are connected at their outer ends by a cross bar 72 on the upper face of which there is mounted a cam roller 74. for engagement with the cam track 76F on the side of the apparatus on which the assembly 14F is located and the cam track76M on the side on which the assembly 14M is located (FIG. 2). A pair of tension springs 80 are connected between the plate 58 and the base 46 which serve to bias the plate 58 andl the finger members carried thereon towards the outermost position when the assembly is free of the associated

cam

76F or 76M thereby withdrawing the same from engagement with the bottle and blank assembly when the assembly 16 reaches the leading end of the associated cam track. The cam tracks 76F and 76M have oppositely disposed cam surfaces 78F and 78M at the entrance ends thereof which are offset in the longitudinal direction so that the bottom forming female and male panels e and f are folded in the sequence required for proper engagement of the locking elements thereon,

The guide assembly 12 at stationsB and C (FIGS. 1, 3, 6, 7 and 9) which hold the bottom wall forming panels e and f in vertical position as they advance at these two stations comprises a series of traveling back up

plates

82F and 82M. These plates are mounted on a pair of laterally spaced supporting

chains

84F and 84M carried on

end sprockets

86M, 88M and 86F, 88F which are mounted on cross shafts 90., 92M and 92F so that the plates travel in paths extending in laterally spaced, vertical planes and adjacent the inside faces of the depending panels e and f (FIGS. 1, 6 and 7). The

plates

82M and 82F are spaced on the

chains

84M and 84F so that when traveling along the upper run thereof they are adjacent the inside faces of the advancing panels e and f and form a guide means for preventing these panels from inward folding until the panels p and q are folded in by the

fingers

62, 64 and 62', 64 at station C. The

guide plates

82M and 82F are carried down around the

end sprockets

88M and 88F between stations C and D and release the panels 2 and f so as to permit these panelsto be folded inwardly and upwardly in the proper sequence by folding

plows

94F and 94M (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9). The

plows

94F and 94M are supported on the machine frame in a suitable manner.

When a partially formed packageadvances to station F it moves above the assembly 18 which extends be tween stations E and G and where it is operated upon by the fingers 22. The finger support blocks 20 (FIGS. 1, 3, ll, 12 and 14) are carried in longitudinally spaced and paired relation on an endless chain 96 which has an upper run supported on longitudinally spaced sprockets98 and 100- which are mounted on

cross shafts

102 and 104, with the latter being supported on a bracket assembly 106. mounted beneath the path of travel of the package assemblies.

Each of the blocks 20 has mounted thereon for pivotal movement in the plane of the block an angular plate 108 with the onearm 110 having the hook-like finger 22 on its free end. The other arm 112 of the angular member 108 is pivoted at 114 to the plate-like block 20. and carries a small pin 116 which is operative in a curved slot 118 in the block 20 so as to limit the swinging movement of plate 108 in both directions. The blocks 20 with their associated finger andmounting elements are arranged in pairs and in spaced relation on the chain 96. A pair of the block and finger assemblies is shown at 120 and 120 in FIG. 14. Each pair is mounted on the chain 96 so that the finger assembly in the leading block 120 swings clockwise as viewed in FIG. 14 and the finger assembly in the trailing block 120' swings in a counter clockwise direction, with the result that the fingers 22 are swung toward each other while they are traversing the topmost run of the chain 96. The control pin 116 is extended so as to engage in a cam track 122 provided in a cam plate 124 mounted on the machine frame immediately beneath the path of travel of the package assemblies and extending along the longitudinal center thereof. The cam track 122 is arranged so that when a carrier block 20 moves up around the sprocket 98 and enters the cam track 122 the finger carrying member 108 is swung about the pivot 114 to bring the finger 22 up into the path of I travel of the package assembly and into the locking aperture (FIGS. 11, 12 and 14). The arrangement of each pair of finger carrying block assemblies 120, 120' is such that the leading block 120 of the pair brings the cam follower 116 into the cam track 122 so that it swings in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 14 and the finger 22 moves up into the leading, endmost aperture 0 in the bottom wall forming panel e of a package assembly. The trailing block 120 is spaced so that when the cam follower 116 moves into the cam track 122 it swings the finger 22 upwardly through the aperture 0 at the trailing end of the assembly. The finger carrying member 108 in the trailing block 120' is swung in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 14 and the two fingers 22 move toward'each other and engage the panels q at each end of the package assembly as shown in FIG. 12, moving these panel members into proper position for book engagement with the latching fingers m in the locking panel I which are subsequently moved into the apertures 0 when the package assembly advances to the locking mechanism 24. The finger carrying members 108 are swung to retracted position by engagement of the cam follower 116 in the curved exit end of the cam track 122, with the cam follower 116 limiting the reverse swinging or retracting movement as it reaches the bottomor inner end of the control slot 118.

The locking panel I is held out of locking relation by a guard or guide rail 126 (FIG. 11) until the package assembly reaches the locking mechanism 24. The locking mechanism 24 may be of the same character as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,590, granted to Robert H. Ganz, on Oct. 28, 1969. The mechanism '24 moves the locking tabs m and the latching fingers n in the locking panel 1 into the co-operating locking apertures 0 with the latching fingers n being in upright position between the bottles and serving as separators.

At stations B, C and D there is provided a mechanism 128 for folding down the identification panels i on the carrier blanks as the blank and bottle assemblies are advanced across the dead plate 34. The mechanism 128 is mounted on a bracket arm 130 (FIGS. 1 and depending in downwardly inclined relation from a cross member 132 on the machine frame and carrying at its lower end an elongate support frame 134, at opposite ends of which, shafts 136 and 138 are mounted for supporting end sprockets 140 and 142. On end sprockets 140 and 142 there is mounted an endless chain 144 carrying a series of spaced blocks 146, each with a semicylindrical surface 148, which face downwardly on the lower run of the chain 144. The blocks 146 are spaced and the movement thereof is timed so that they move down a slightly inclined path and engage between the trailing and leading end pairs of bottles in successive advancing bottle clusters so as to force downwardly into position the leading and trailing identification panels i on the successive bottle and blank assemblies as shown in FIG. 15.

The chain 144 is driven by a chain and sprocket drive connection 150 with a chain driven cross shaft 152 on the machine frame. There is a drive connection 154 between the driven shaft 152 and a cross shaft 42 carrying a pair of sprockets 38, 38' on' which the

chains

36 and 36 are riding. The

chains

36 and 36

extend'to end sprockets

40, 40 on a cross shaft 44 at the discharge end of the machine and a suitable driving connection with the chain 96 may be provided for. The

chains

84F and 84M may also be driven by a suitable connection with the drive for the chains 36 and 36'. I

I claim:

1. A machine for forming a package which is characterized by an assembly of containers of bottle like form which are in double row, transversely paired alignment and enclosed in a tube forming foldable blank, the

blank being initially seated on the top of the containers with side wall forming panels depending from a top wall forming panel and terminating at a hinged connection with bottom wall forming panels, which bottom wall forming panels have cooperating interlocking connecting elements, said machine comprising conveyor means for advancing successive assemblies of the containers and packaging blanks along a predetermined path, a pair of endless traveling conveyors mounted for operation with generally parallel runs thereof spaced laterally and disposed on opposite sides of the path of said conveyormeans for advancing successive container and blank assemblies, carriage forming members mounted on said traveling conveyors in paired relation and associated guide members arranged so that the members of each pair of said carriage members are held in oppositely disposed spaced relation as they traverse said oppositely disposed conveyor runs of said traveling conveyors, each of said carriage forming members having means in the form of a plurality of fingers thereon which are slidably mounted on each of said carriage members for movement toward said path along which said container and blank assemblies are advanced between said opposed runs of said traveling conveyors, means to move said fingers toward the path of said assembly advancing conveyor means so as to engage said fingers in predetermined sequence with the depending bottom wall forming panels of successive container and blank assemblies at points adjacent the hinged connection of said bottom wall forming panels with the side wall forming panels so as to force said bottom wall forming panels into bottom wall forming relation beneath said containers and to position the connecting elements to be interengaged while the blank is drawn tightly about the assembly of containers.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said carriage forming members each have a bracket slidably mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bracket and extending outboard of the path of travel of 3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein spring means is provided for urging said slidably mounted bracket into a retracted position where said fingers are out of engagement with said bottom wall forming panels.

4. A machine for forming a package as set forth in claim 1 wherein the packaging blank is further charac terized by the provision of finger accommodating apertures at the hinged connection of said bottom wall forming panels with said side wall forming panels and wherein said machine includes finger means having portions arranged so as to move in a path extending through said apertures and into supporting relation beneath the containers and other portions arranged to engage aperture defining edges of said bottom wall forming panels so as to draw the panels tightly about the containers.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said carriage forming members each have a bracket movably mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bracket, means for moving said bracket toward the path of said assembly advancing conveyor means so as to engage said finger means with a bottom wall forming panel and said finger means including finger members having an abutment forming portion for engaging said bottom wall forming panel and an extended portion for movement into container supporting relation beneath the containers.

6. -A machine for applying carton blanks to groups of containers wherein the containers are aligned indouble row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel and depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom clo- I sure forming panels,- with foldable end wall forming panels hinged to the side wall forming panels for at least partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged panels forming anchoring tabs on their lower ends which are adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, said machine comprising means for feeding thereto succes sive groups of the containers in double row, transversely paired alignment, the successive groups each having a carton blank deposited thereon with the side walls disposed in downwardly depending relation along the opposite sides of the group of containers, means for advancing the successive container and blank assemblies along a predetermined path, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof traveling on opposite sides of the path of said assembly advancing means on which there are advancing assemblies of containers and blanks, a series of longitudinally spaced carriage assemblies mounted for outboard movement and in longitudinally spaced relation 'on said endless conveyor means, means disposed along said path of travel to move a pair of said carriages when said pair of carriages are traveling along said opposed conveyor runs on opposite sides of said path of travel toward each successive assembly of containers and blanks advancing along said path of travel and said carriages each having means in the form of a plurality of finger members thereon for engaging certain of said carton forming panels in predetermined sequence so as to fold said panels into predetermined carton closing position. i

7. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have a bracket member mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bracket member so as to extend in outwardly directed relation when advanced along said opposed conveyor runs and cam means disposed along said opposed conveyor runs for moving said bracket member to extend said finger means toward said container and blank assembly advancing means soas to engage said end wall forming panels and said bottom wall forming panels and to fold said panels toward wall forming position.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have a bracket member movably mounted thereon with said finger means carried in outwardly extending relation on said bracket member, and cam means disposed along said opposed conveyor runs forcontrolling the movement of said bracket member and said finger means thereon so that certain of said finger members may be engaged with said end wall forming panels, said anchoring tabs andsaid bottom wall forming panels so as to move said panels into predetermined carton closing position.

9. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have an elongate bracket forming bar member slidably mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bar member and said finger means comprising relatively flat finger members .mounted in spaced relation along said bar member,

certain of said finger members being disposed in a horizontal plane andother finger members disposed in verprising finger members in the form of relatively flat plate elements of different length with the longer plate velements at opposite ends of said bar member and positioned to engage in sequence said anchoring tabs, said end wall forming panels and said bottom closure forming panels.

11. In a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton hasa top wall forming panel, depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have interlocking connecting elements, and foldable endwall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to advance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means in the form of hooks operative in pairs beneath said path for movement toward each other in a longitudinal vertical plane and into engagementwith leading and trailing, anchoring tabs on each successive carton advanced along said pathso as to position said anchor ing tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of l l said bottom wall panel connecting elements which anchoring tab positioning means is mounted on a traveling conveyor for vertical swinging movement in a longitudinal vertical plane.

12. In a packaging machine as set forth in claim 11 wherein said means for positioning said anchoring tabs comprises an endless traveling conveyor means having pairs of hook forming means mounted thereon which are operative in a longitudinal vertical plane to engage said leading and trailing anchoring tabs during predetermined travel thereof and insure that said anchoring tabs are located in the proper position for engaging said panel connecting elements.

13. in a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel, depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have interlocking connecting elements, and foldable end wall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to advance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means operative beneath said path for positioning said anchoring tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of said bottom wall panel connecting elements, which means for positioning said anchoring tabs comprises an endless traveling conveyor having a run thereof traveling beneath said path, pairs of supporting members on said conveyor, hook-like finger elements pivoted on said supporting members and means for moving said finger elements to engage said anchoring tabs at the leading and trailing end of said carton bottom wall and to hold said anchoring tabs in proper position for engaging said panel connecting elements.

14. In a packaging machine as set forth in claim 13 wherein said supporting members for said hook-like finger elements comprises block elements having slots therein for mounting said finger elements.

15. In a packaging machine as set forth in claim 14 wherein said hook-like finger elements have cam rollers thereon and means forming a cam track is provided for co-operation with said cam rollers for controlling the movement of said finger elements.

16. In a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel,

depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have interlocking connecting elements, and foldable end wall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to advance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means operative beneath said path for positioning said anchoring tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of said bottom wall panel connecting elements, which means for positioning and anchoring tabs comprises a traveling conveyorhaving a run thereof beneath said path, support blocks spaced on said traveling conveyor, anglemembers pivotally mounted on said support blocks with a leg thereof having a hook shape, and cam means for pivoting said angle members to bring said hook-shaped leg into engagement with a pair of said anchoring tabs to hold said anchoring tabs in proper position for engagement with certain of said panel connecting elements.

17. In a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups-of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel, depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have co-operating connecting elements comprising overlapping marginal portions with locking apertures in a marginal portion of one panel and co-operating locking tabs in the marginal portions of the associated bottom wall forming panel and foldable end wall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to. be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to ad-- vance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means operative beneath said path for positioning said anchoring tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of said bottom wall panel connecting elements, which means for positioning said anchoring tabs comprises an endless traveling conveyor with a run thereof disposed beneath said path, support blocks spaced in paired relation on said traveling conveyor, arm members pivoted on said support blocks which have hook-shaped free ends, cam means for pivoting the arm members to swing the hook-shaped ends into locking apertures in the marginal portion of a container bottom forming panel and into engagement with a pair of said anchoring tabs when said blocks traverse the run of said traveling conveyor which is beneath said path.

18. In a packaging machine for enclosing groups of bottles which are'arranged in double row and transversely paired alignment by wrapping about each group a blank of foldable sheet material, the blank being initially deposited on a group of bottles with a top wall forming panel on the top of the bottles and having side and bottom wall forming panels depending along the sides of the group of bottles which include end wall forming panels adapted to hinge on the vertical end edges of the side wall forming panels, said end wall panels having bottom extensions adapted to be folded beneath the end bottles and hooked to bottle separating members which are hinged into upstanding relation from the bottom wall forming panels upon closing of the bottom wall forming panels, apparatus for advancing along a work path successive groups of bottles with a wrapper blank deposited on each group thereof, apparatus disposed along said work path and including pairs of co-operating, spaced folder members movable into said path for folding into bottle engaging position the end wall forming panels and associated bottom extensions together with means for folding the bottom wall forming panels into bottom closing position, and other apparatus disposed beneath said path and movable in a longitudinal plane upwardly in paired relation so as to engage and position the bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels of each successive blank for hooked engagement with said bottle separating members.

19. In a packaging machine as set forth in claim 18 wherein said apparatus for engaging said positioning said bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels comprisesan endless conveyor disposed for travelbeneath the path of advance of said groups of bottles and carrying thereon pairs of longitudinally spaced finger members with means for moving the finger members upwardly into the path of advance of said groups of bottles and into engagement with said bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels.

20. In a packaging machine for enclosing groups of bottles which are arranged in double row and transversely paired alignment by wrapping about each group a blank of foldable sheet material, the blank being initially deposited on a group of bottles with a top wall forming panel on the top of the bottles and having side and bottom wall forming panels depending along the sides of the group of bottles which include end wall forming panels adapted to hinge on the vertical end edges of the side wall forming panels, said end wall panels having bottom extensions adapted to be folded beneath the end bottles and hooked to bottle separating members which are hinged into upstanding relation from the bottom wall forming panels upon closing of the bottom wall forming panels, apparatus for advancing the group of bottles along a work path, apparatus for folding into bottle engaging position the end wall fonning panels and associated bottom extensions together with the bottom wall forming panels, and apparatus for engaging and positioning the bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels for hooked engagement with said bottle separating members, which apparatus for engaging and positioning said bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels comprises an endless traveling conveyor arranged in a generally vertical plane with a run thereof traveling beneath the path of advance of said group of bottles and having thereon spaced carrier blocks in paired arrangement with fingers pivoted thereon which have hook-shaped ends, and cam means for swinging the fingers of each pair thereof toward each other as they traverse the conveyor run beneath the bottles and into engagement with pairs of said bottom extensions on the end wall forming panels.

Claims

1. A macHine for forming a package which is characterized by an assembly of containers of bottle like form which are in double row, transversely paired alignment and enclosed in a tube forming foldable blank, the blank being initially seated on the top of the containers with side wall forming panels depending from a top wall forming panel and terminating at a hinged connection with bottom wall forming panels, which bottom wall forming panels have cooperating interlocking connecting elements, said machine comprising conveyor means for advancing successive assemblies of the containers and packaging blanks along a predetermined path, a pair of endless traveling conveyors mounted for operation with generally parallel runs thereof spaced laterally and disposed on opposite sides of the path of said conveyor means for advancing successive container and blank assemblies, carriage forming members mounted on said traveling conveyors in paired relation and associated guide members arranged so that the members of each pair of said carriage members are held in oppositely disposed spaced relation as they traverse said oppositely disposed conveyor runs of said traveling conveyors, each of said carriage forming members having means in the form of a plurality of fingers thereon which are slidably mounted on each of said carriage members for movement toward said path along which said container and blank assemblies are advanced between said opposed runs of said traveling conveyors, means to move said fingers toward the path of said assembly advancing conveyor means so as to engage said fingers in predetermined sequence with the depending bottom wall forming panels of successive container and blank assemblies at points adjacent the hinged connection of said bottom wall forming panels with the side wall forming panels so as to force said bottom wall forming panels into bottom wall forming relation beneath said containers and to position the connecting elements to be interengaged while the blank is drawn tightly about the assembly of containers.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said carriage forming members each have a bracket slidably mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bracket and extending outboard of the path of travel of said carriage forming members and cam means for moving said fingers and reciprocating said bracket so as to project said fingers into and out of engagement with said bottom wall forming panels.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein spring means is provided for urging said slidably mounted bracket into a retracted position where said fingers are out of engagement with said bottom wall forming panels.

4. A machine for forming a package as set forth in claim 1 wherein the packaging blank is further characterized by the provision of finger accommodating apertures at the hinged connection of said bottom wall forming panels with said side wall forming panels and wherein said machine includes finger means having portions arranged so as to move in a path extending through said apertures and into supporting relation beneath the containers and other portions arranged to engage aperture defining edges of said bottom wall forming panels so as to draw the panels tightly about the containers.

6. A machine for applying carton blanks to groups of containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel and depending side wall forMing panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom closure forming panels, with foldable end wall forming panels hinged to the side wall forming panels for at least partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged panels forming anchoring tabs on their lower ends which are adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, said machine comprising means for feeding thereto successive groups of the containers in double row, transversely paired alignment, the successive groups each having a carton blank deposited thereon with the side walls disposed in downwardly depending relation along the opposite sides of the group of containers, means for advancing the successive container and blank assemblies along a predetermined path, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof traveling on opposite sides of the path of said assembly advancing means on which there are advancing assemblies of containers and blanks, a series of longitudinally spaced carriage assemblies mounted for outboard movement and in longitudinally spaced relation on said endless conveyor means, means disposed along said path of travel to move a pair of said carriages when said pair of carriages are traveling along said opposed conveyor runs on opposite sides of said path of travel toward each successive assembly of containers and blanks advancing along said path of travel and said carriages each having means in the form of a plurality of finger members thereon for engaging certain of said carton forming panels in predetermined sequence so as to fold said panels into predetermined carton closing position.

7. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have a bracket member mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bracket member so as to extend in outwardly directed relation when advanced along said opposed conveyor runs and cam means disposed along said opposed conveyor runs for moving said bracket member to extend said finger means toward said container and blank assembly advancing means so as to engage said end wall forming panels and said bottom wall forming panels and to fold said panels toward wall forming position.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have a bracket member movably mounted thereon with said finger means carried in outwardly extending relation on said bracket member, and cam means disposed along said opposed conveyor runs for controlling the movement of said bracket member and said finger means thereon so that certain of said finger members may be engaged with said end wall forming panels, said anchoring tabs and said bottom wall forming panels so as to move said panels into predetermined carton closing position.

9. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have an elongate bracket forming bar member slidably mounted thereon with said finger means carried on said bar member and said finger means comprising relatively flat finger members mounted in spaced relation along said bar member, certain of said finger members being disposed in a horizontal plane and other finger members disposed in vertical planes.

10. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said carriage assemblies each have an elongate bracket forming bar member movably mounted thereon and cam means disposed along said opposed conveyor runs for moving said bar members outwardly of the path of travel of said carriages, said bar member having said finger means mounted thereon, said finger means comprising finger members in the form of relatively flat plate elements of different length with the longer plate elements at opposite ends of said bar member and positioned to engage in sequence said anchoring tabs, said end wall forming panels and said bottom closure forming panels.

11. In a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel, depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have interlocking connecting elements, and foldable end wall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to advance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means in the form of hooks operative in pairs beneath said path for movement toward each other in a longitudinal vertical plane and into engagement with leading and trailing anchoring tabs on each successive carton advanced along said path so as to position said anchoring tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of said bottom wall panel connecting elements which anchoring tab positioning means is mounted on a traveling conveyor for vertical swinging movement in a longitudinal vertical plane.

16. In a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel, depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have interlocking connecting elements, and foldable end wall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to advance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means operative beneath said path for positioning said anchoring tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of said bottom wall panel connecting elements, which means for positioning and anchoring tabs comprises a traveling conveyor having a run thereof beneath said path, support blocks spaced on said traveling conveyor, angle members pivotally mounted on said support blocks with a leg thereof having a hook shape, and cam means for pivoting said angle members to bring said hook-shaped leg into engagement with a pair of said anchoring tabs to hold said anchoring tabs in proper position for engagement with certain of said panel connecting elements.

17. In a packaging machine for applying cartons to groups of bottles or like containers wherein the containers are aligned in double row, transversely paired relation and each carton has a top wall forming panel, depending side wall forming panels terminating at hingedly connected, bottom wall forming panels which have co-operating connecting elements comprising overlapping marginal portions with locking apertures in a marginal portion of one panel and co-operating locking tabs in the marginal portions of the associated bottom wall forming panel and foldable end wall forming panels for partially closing the ends of the carton which end wall forming panels have hinged anchoring tabs on their lower ends adapted to be folded beneath the end containers in the carton, conveyor means for advancing successive groups of the containers each having a carton thereon with the side wall forming panels folded down along the sides of the containers, endless conveyor means mounted for travel in a generally horizontal plane with opposed runs thereof on opposite sides of a path along which the containers are adapted to advance, means associated with said endless conveyor means for engaging said wall forming panels and moving them into wall forming position, and means operative beneath said path for positioning said anchoring tabs for interlocking engagement with certain of said bottom wall panel connecting elements, which means for positioning said anchoring tabs comprises an endless traveling conveyor with a run thereof disposed beneath said path, support blocks spaced in paired relation on said traveling conveyor, arm members pivoted on said support blocks which have hook-shaped free ends, cam means for pivoting the arm members to swing the hook-shaped ends into locking apertures in the marginal portion of a container bottom forming panel and into engagement with a pair of said anchoring tabs when said blocks traverse the run of said traveling conveyor which is beneath said path.

18. In a packaging machine for enclosing groups of bottles which are arranged in double row and transversely paired alignment by wrapping about each group a blank of foldable sheet material, the blank being initially deposited on a group of bottles with a top wall forming panel on the top of the bottles anD having side and bottom wall forming panels depending along the sides of the group of bottles which include end wall forming panels adapted to hinge on the vertical end edges of the side wall forming panels, said end wall panels having bottom extensions adapted to be folded beneath the end bottles and hooked to bottle separating members which are hinged into upstanding relation from the bottom wall forming panels upon closing of the bottom wall forming panels, apparatus for advancing along a work path successive groups of bottles with a wrapper blank deposited on each group thereof, apparatus disposed along said work path and including pairs of co-operating, spaced folder members movable into said path for folding into bottle engaging position the end wall forming panels and associated bottom extensions together with means for folding the bottom wall forming panels into bottom closing position, and other apparatus disposed beneath said path and movable in a longitudinal plane upwardly in paired relation so as to engage and position the bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels of each successive blank for hooked engagement with said bottle separating members.

19. In a packaging machine as set forth in claim 18 wherein said apparatus for engaging said positioning said bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels comprises an endless conveyor disposed for travel beneath the path of advance of said groups of bottles and carrying thereon pairs of longitudinally spaced finger members with means for moving the finger members upwardly into the path of advance of said groups of bottles and into engagement with said bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels.

20. In a packaging machine for enclosing groups of bottles which are arranged in double row and transversely paired alignment by wrapping about each group a blank of foldable sheet material, the blank being initially deposited on a group of bottles with a top wall forming panel on the top of the bottles and having side and bottom wall forming panels depending along the sides of the group of bottles which include end wall forming panels adapted to hinge on the vertical end edges of the side wall forming panels, said end wall panels having bottom extensions adapted to be folded beneath the end bottles and hooked to bottle separating members which are hinged into upstanding relation from the bottom wall forming panels upon closing of the bottom wall forming panels, apparatus for advancing the group of bottles along a work path, apparatus for folding into bottle engaging position the end wall forming panels and associated bottom extensions together with the bottom wall forming panels, and apparatus for engaging and positioning the bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels for hooked engagement with said bottle separating members, which apparatus for engaging and positioning said bottom extensions on said end wall forming panels comprises an endless traveling conveyor arranged in a generally vertical plane with a run thereof traveling beneath the path of advance of said group of bottles and having thereon spaced carrier blocks in paired arrangement with fingers pivoted thereon which have hook-shaped ends, and cam means for swinging the fingers of each pair thereof toward each other as they traverse the conveyor run beneath the bottles and into engagement with pairs of said bottom extensions on the end wall forming panels.