Carton forming machine

Claim 1

IN A MACHINE FOR RECEIVING AN ERECTED TUBULAR CARTON BLANK AND FOR FORMING AN END WALL ON THE ERECTED TUBULAR CARTON BLANK FROM CLOSURE PANEL MEANS AT ONE END THEREOF, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A FRAME STRUCTURE; CARRIER MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE FOR SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT AROUND A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS; A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED MANDRELS HAVING RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTIONS, THERE BEING AT LEAST TWO GROUPS OF MANDRELS OF DIFFERENT SIZES, THE MANDRELS OF ONE SIZE BEING CONNECTED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID CARRIER MEANS AT UNIFORM INTERVALS AROUND SAID VERTICAL AXIS AND EXTENDING PARALLEL WITH SAID VERTICAL AXIS FOR MOVEMENT BY SAID CARRIER MEANS ALONG A CLOSED, SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PATH AROUND SAID VERTICAL AXIS, AN ERECTED CARTION BLANK BEING SNUGLY AND SLIDABLY RECEIVABLE ONTO EACH MANDREL OF SAID ONE SIZE; DRIVE MEANS OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID CARRIER MEANS FOR EFFECTING STEP-BY-STEP MOVEMENT OF SAID CARRIER MEANS ALONG SAID PATH, WHEREBY EACH OF THE MANDRELS OF ONE GROUP IS MOVED, ONE AT A TIME, INTO AND OUT OF THE CARTON-RECEIVING POSITION IN SAID PATH; MECHANISM MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE ALONG SAID PATH FOR SEQUENTIALLY PERFORMING OPERATIONS UPON THE CLOSURE PANEL MEANS, WHEREBY THE END WALL IS FORMED ON EACH ERECTED CARTON BLANK WHILE IT IS ON A MANDREL OF SAID ONE SIZE; MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CARRIER MEANS FOR MOVING SAID CARRIER MEANS A SELECTED AMOUNT AROUND SAID VERTICAL AXIS, WHEREBY THE MANDRELS OF ONE GROUP ARE MOVED INTO THE POSITIONS OCCUPIED BY THE MANDRELS OF THE OTHER GROUP; MEANS FOR EFFECTING THE OPERATION OF SAID DRIVE MEANS AND SAID MECHANISM ON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE.