Box closing device

Claim 1

A BOX FLAP CLOSING DEVICE COMPRISING: A SUPPORT MEMBER (16); FOUR ELONGATED GUIDES (11, 12, 13, 14) SECURED TO SAID SUPPORT MEMBER AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATION, EACH OF SAID GUIDES HAVING AN ANGULAR CROSS SECTION TO RECEIVE A CORNER OF A BOX BLANK INSERTED INTO THE DEVICE, THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID GUIDES BEING FLARED OUTWARDLY TO FACILITATE ENTRANCE OF A BOX BLANK INTO SAID GUIDES, SAID GUIDES ESTABLISHING FIRST AND SECOND GUIDE PLANES IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER AND THIRD AND FOURTH PARALLEL SPACED GUIDE PLANES PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND GUIDE PLANES; FIRST AND SECOND SUPPORT POSTS (29, 26) SECURED TO SAID SUPPORT MEMBER AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM PARALLEL TO SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLANES AND SPACED EQUIDISTANTLY FROM SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLANES; FIRST AND SECOND FLAPS FOLDING MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID MEMBERS BEING AN ELONGATED FLAP FOLDING FINGER (23, 22), EACH FINGER HAVING A LOWER AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO ONE OF SAID SUPPORT POSTS, AND EACH FINGER BEING SPRING BIASED INTO NORMAL POSITION EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE PIVOTAL MOUNTING THEREOF AND OUTWARDLY THROUGH ONE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLANES; A FIRST LATCH (44) PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO SAID FIRST POST AND HAVING AN ABUTMENT PORTION (44F) PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FIRST FINGER (23), THE DISTANCE FROM SAID ABUTMENT PORTION TO SAID FIRST PLANE INTERCEPTED BY SAID FIRST FINGER AND MEASURED ALONG SAID FIRST FINGER BEING LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF A BOX FLAP (63) TO BE FOLDED BY SAID FIRST FINGER, THE BOX FLAP LENGTH BEING MEASURED FROM A SCORE LINE (77) ON THE BOX BLANK TO THE MARGINAL EDGE (63A) OF THE FLAP PARALLEL TO THE SCORE LINE, SAID SCORE LINE BEING THE ONE TO BE BROKEN BY SAID FIRST FINGER DURING MOVEMENT OF THE BLANK INTO THE DEVICE, SAID LATCH NORMALLY PREVENTING PIVOTING OF SAID FIRST FINGER DOWNWARDLY WHEN SAID FINGER IS ENGAGED BY SAID BOX FLAP, WHEREBY SAID SCORE LINE IS BROKEN AND SAID FLAP IS TURNED INWARDLY AS SAID BOX BLANK IS MOVED TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, THE ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT OF SAID MARGINAL EDGE WITH SAID ABUTMENT AS SAID FLAP IS TURNED INWARDLY BEING OPERATIVE TO PIVOT SAID LATCH TO RELEASE POSITION AS SAID BOX BLANK IS MOVED FURTHER TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER WHEREUPON SAID FIRST FINGER IS PIVOTABLE DOWNWARDLY TO PERMIT UPWARD TURNING OF SAID FLAP BY SAID FIRST SUPPORT POST AS SAID BLANK IS MOVED FURTHER TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER; A SECOND LATCH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO SAID SECOND POST (22) AND HAVING AN ABUTMENT PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID SECOND FINGER AND OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID SECOND FINGER IN THE SAME MANNER AS SAID FIRST LATCH IS OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID FIRST FINGER; SAID FIRST AND SECOND FINGERS BEING ALIGNED WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND POSTS RESPECTIVELY FOR ARRESTING ENGAGEMENT OF SAID FINGERS WITH SAID POSTS AFTER PIVOTING OF SAID FINGERS TO POSITIONS GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID POSTS; THIRD AND FOURTH SUPPORT POSTS (36, 37) SECURED TO SAID SUPPORT MEMBER (16) AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM BETWEEN SAID PLANES; THIRD AND FOURTH FLAP FOLDING MEMBERS (33, 34) EACH HAVING A LOWER END PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO ONE OF SAID THIRD AND FOURTH POSTS, AND EACH BEING SPRING BIASED INTO NORMAL POSITION EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE PIVOTAL MOUNTING THEREOF AND OUTWARDLY THROUGH ONE OF SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLANES; A THIRD LATCH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO SAID THIRD POST AND HAVING AN ABUTMENT PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID THIRD MEMBER, THE DISTANCE FROM SAID ABUTMENT PORTION OF SAID THIRD LATCH TO SAID THIRD PLANE AND MEASURED ALONG SAID THIRD MEMBER BEING LESS THAN LENGTH OF ANOTHER BOX FLAP (62) TO BE FOLDED BY SAID THIRD MEMBER, SAID THIRD LATCH NORMALLY PREVENTING PIVOTING OF SAID THIRD MEMBER DOWNWARDLY WHEN SAID THIRD MEMBER IS ENGAGED BY SAID ANOTHER BOX FLAP DURING MOVEMENT OF SAID BOX BLANK TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, WHEREBY SAID ANOTHER FLAP IS TURNED INWARDLY AS SAID BOX BLANK IS MOVED TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, THE ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT OF A MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID ANOTHER FLAP WITH THE ABUTMENT PORTION OF SAID THIRD LATCH AS SAID BOX BLANK IS MOVED TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER BEING OPERATIVE TO PIVOT SAID THIRD LATCH TO A RELEASE POSITION WHEREUPON SAID THIRD FOLDING MEMBER IS PERMITTED TO PIVOT DOWNWARDLY TO PERMIT UPWARD TURNING OF SAID ANOTHER FLAP BY SAID THIRD POST AS SAID BLANK IS MOVED FURTHER TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER; A FOURTH LATCH NORMALLY PREVENTING PIVOTING OF SAID FOURTH MEMBER AND OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID FOURTH MEMBER IN THE SAME MANNER AS SAID THIRD LATCH IS OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID THIRD MEMBER; AND STOP MEANS (79) SECURED TO SAID SUPPORT MEMBER AND POSITIONED FOR ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT BY THE LOWER MARGINS OF WALL FORMING PORTIONS OF SAID BLANK TO STOP MOVEMENT OF SAID BLANK TOWARD SAID SUPPORT MEMBER WHEN SAID BLANK IS IN A POSITION WHERE ALL OF SAID FLAPS ARE INCLINED UPWARDLY, TWO OF SAID SUPPORT POSTS (29, 37) BEING SPACED FROM GUIDE PLANES FACED THEREBY TO PERMIT SAID ANOTHER FLAP (62) TO DEFLECT SAID ONE FLAP (63) OUTWARDLY SLIGHTLY AS SAID BLANK APPROACHES SAID STOP MEANS.