Carton erector apparatus

Claim 1

Carton erecting apparatus for setting up and bottom closing of cartons which are supplied to the apparatus as knocked-down carton blanks having side and end panels and top and bottom flaps formed integral therewith; said apparatus comprising: (a) a carton blank storage section having a magazine means for storing and urging knock-down carton blanks in a substantially vertical orientation with their bottom flaps lowermost towards a carton set-up section; (b) said carton set-up section including a carton opoening assembly for receiving a carton blank from said magazine means in a substantially vertical orientation and setting up said carton blank in a tubular form, said carton opening assembly having a folding arm and a pivot arm, said folding arm being pivotal about a substantially vertical axis and movable between a first position generally parallel to the side panel of said knocked-down carton blank in said magazine means and a second position generally perpendicular to the side panel of said knocked-down carton blank, said pivot arm being pivotally secured to said folding arm and movable between a first position substantially parallel to said folding arm and a second position substantially perpendicular to said folding arm, said carton opening assembly having a first means for moving said folding arm between its first and second positions, said carton opening assembly having a second means for moving said pivot arm between its first and second positions, said carton opening assembly having a grasping means associated with said pivot arm for grasping a side panel of said carton blank from said magazine means when said pivot arm and said folding arm are in their respective first positions such that upon subsequent movement of said pivot arm and said folding arm into their respective second positions an end panel of said carton blank contacts said folding arm urging said carton blank into a set-up tubular form, said folding arm being secured to a first substantially vertical shaft rotatably mounted to a substantially horizontal carriage plate extending under and secured to said carton opening assembly, said carriage plate being movable through a substantially horizontal plane by a third means connected to said carriage plate between a first position within said carton set-up section and a second position extending into a bottom flap folding section for delivery of the set up carton thereinto; and said apparatus having a bottom flap folding means associated therewith for infolding the bottom flaps of the set-up carton.