Wrap around carton packaging machine

Abstract

A packaging apparatus for wrapping a carton around a packaged product comprises a box mandrel conveyor including a plurality of mandrels which support the packaged product thereon. Packages are precisely fed to the mandrels of the box mandrel conveyor by a conditioning conveyor. Carton blanks are delivered to a conveying system for a carton magazine and are conveyed in vertical confronting relation to a mandrel. Each mandrel moves the carton blank against a large radius plows device thereby causing the carton blank to be folded around a mandrel containing a package. Folding and compression devices are provided for folding and compressing an end panel against a manufacturer's flap. Suitable flap closing means close the end flaps and upper and lower flaps after the mandrel is withdrawn from the carton.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to a packaging machine and more particularly to a packaging machine which wraps and forms a carton around a package. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In some conventional packaging machines, product is loaded into preformed cartons and the cartons are subsequently closed and sealed. Various kinds of products including dry product, bagged flexible products, rigid products, single and multiples of bagged and single products are loaded into preformed cartons by some packaging machines. Typically the product is loaded (pushed) through an open end of the carton. [0003] When the product is a bagged flexible product such as cereal, it is difficult at best to push the bagged product into the carton. It will be appreciated that a cereal package, for example, does not maintain structural integrity when subjected to pressure (loading). Further, preformed cartons are more expensive to buy, more difficult to handle, and more difficult to ope...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005] An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved cartoning machine in which carton blanks are partially and precisely formed around product and thereafter the flaps are precisely closed and sealed.

[0008] The product is delivered from the infeed conveyor system to a fan feed device where product is timed delivered to a timing conveyor. Product is then delivered to a conditioning conveyor which drops the product into a mandrel or bucket. The conditioning conveyor is provided with flights which compress semirigid product (cereal packages) into a size slightly smaller than the bucket. Fingers on the flights support the product at the discharge end of the conditioning conveyor and prevent premature dropping of the product into the associated bucket.

[0011] The blanks are folded around the packages in the mandrels by large radius folding plows as the mandrels are moved downstream. Positioning guide elements engage the edge portions of the blank to assure proper positioning of the blank for folding around the mandrel. Self-aligning flights assures accurate gluing of the manufacturer's joint.

Problems solved by technology

When the product is a bagged flexible product such as cereal, it is difficult at best to push the bagged product into the carton.

Further, preformed cartons are more expensive to buy, more difficult to handle, and more difficult to open and load reliable.

However, few systems were manufactured.

Specifically the Langen patent does not address the problems of flexible packages, reliable manufactures flap closing and sealing, glue contamination, and precise machine performance needed for efficient packaging.

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