Carton folding apparatus
First Claim
1. A carton folding apparatus operable to close the top of a carton having a front inner flap, a rear inner flap, a right outer flap, and a left outer flap, said carton folding apparatus comprising:
- a frame having an input end and an output end;
means for transporting said carton from said input end to said output end of said frame; and
a flap folding assembly mounted for vertical movement along said frame in order to accommodate cartons of various sizes, said flap folding assembly being positioned above said transporting means, said flap folding assembly including a stationary front flap folding bar, a rotatable rear flap folding arm, a right outer flap folding member, and a left outer flap folding member, each of said outer flap folding members including an end, each of said ends of said outer flap folding members being adapted to be moved closer to or further from one another upon rotation of said outer flap folding members,wherein each of said outer flap folding members contains a plurality of holes therein, the plurality of holes lying in a plane that is orthogonal to a direction of rotation of said outer flap members.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A carton folding apparatus operable to close the top of a carton having a front inner flap, a rear inner flap, a right outer flap, and a left outer flap. The carton folding apparatus comprises a frame which has an input end and an output end. Extending between the input end and the output end of the frame is a conveyor which is adapted to transport cartons from a position upstream of the input end of the frame to a position downstream of the output end thereof. A flap folding assembly is mounted for vertical movement along the frame in order to accommodate cartons of various sizes. The flap folding assembly is positioned above the conveyor and includes a stationary front flap folding bar, a rotatable rear flap folding arm, a right outer flap folding member, and a left outer flap folding member. Each of outer flap folding members includes an end. The ends of the outer flap folding members are adapted to be moved closer to or further from one another upon rotation of the outer flap folding members. The flap folding assembly can be adjusted to accommodate cartons of different sizes in response to information manually or automatically received by the apparatus.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A carton folding apparatus operable to close the top of a carton having a front inner flap, a rear inner flap, a right outer flap, and a left outer flap, said carton folding apparatus comprising:
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a frame having an input end and an output end; means for transporting said carton from said input end to said output end of said frame; and a flap folding assembly mounted for vertical movement along said frame in order to accommodate cartons of various sizes, said flap folding assembly being positioned above said transporting means, said flap folding assembly including a stationary front flap folding bar, a rotatable rear flap folding arm, a right outer flap folding member, and a left outer flap folding member, each of said outer flap folding members including an end, each of said ends of said outer flap folding members being adapted to be moved closer to or further from one another upon rotation of said outer flap folding members, wherein each of said outer flap folding members contains a plurality of holes therein, the plurality of holes lying in a plane that is orthogonal to a direction of rotation of said outer flap members. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of closing the top of a carton having a front inner flap, a rear inner flap, a right outer flap, and a left outer flap, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a carton folding apparatus, said carton folding apparatus including a frame, a conveyor means and a flap folding assembly including outer flap folding members having ends, wherein each of said outer flap folding members contains a plurality of holes therein, the plurality of holes lying in a plane that is orthogonal to a direction of rotation of said outer flap members; placing a carton on said conveyor means upstream of said flap folding assembly; vertically adjusting said flap folding assembly to accommodate the specific dimensions of said carton; conveying said carton downstream to a position adjacent said flap folding assembly, activating said flap folding assembly to fold said front inner flap, rear inner flap, right outer flap and left inner flap inwardly in order to close said carton, including; rotating said outer flap folding members, and moving each of said ends of said outer flap folding members closer to or further from one another upon rotation of said outer flap folding members. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification