389,385. Packeting electric lamps &c. in cartons. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., Ltd., Magnet House, Kingsway, London.- (Assignees of Patent- Treuhand- Ges. f³r Elektrische Gl³hlampen; 11, Ehrenbergstrasse, Berlin.) Aug. 15, 1932, No. 22856. Convention date, Aug. 17, 1931. [Class 94 (i).] A machine for packeting incandescent electric lamps, thermionic valves, &c. in prismatically folding cartons is designed to take the folded cartons from a pile, open them out into prismatic form, insert a cylindrical liner and the object to be packed into each carton, and fold all the top and bottom flaps entirely automatically. The machine has an intermittently revolving table provided with equally-spaced holding pockets for the opened cartons, and comprises means for taking the cartons stacked vertically in a pile, opening them into prismatic form, inserting them singly into the holding pockets of the machine, folding all the bottom flaps, turning two upper flaps of the carton outwardly to permit of the insertion of the liner and lamp &c., inserting a cylindrical liner, inserting a lamp &c., such insertion being dependent on the presence of a liner in the carton, and folding all the top flaps of the completed package. Feeding and opening cartons. The folded cartons 5, Figs. 1 and 3, are arranged in a vertical pile in an adjustable container, a pressure plate 26 acting on the rear of the pile and pressing the foremost carton against inturned edges 15. A blade 20 movable with other blades 21 descends and engages the foremost folded carton. The blades then turn on a common shaft in the direction of the arrow, and the carton just removed from the pile is engaged by inwardly-moving jaws 32 to open it into the form shown in Fig. 5, while the blades 21 engage a previously opened carton and transfer it through guides 38 which further contract it and allow it to expand into the first holding pocket 2 in the position A, Fig. 1. In the next position B, a plunger plate 40<1> completes the insertion into the pocket. Closing the bottom flaps 6, 7, 8, Fig. 5, and turning the flaps 9 outwardly. In the next positions of the holding pocket, an inclined plate engages the following flap 6 and folds it, while the leading flap 6 is engaged by a fixed guide and folded down. When the carton reaches the stage D, Figs. 1 and 7, blades 71,70 move inwardly and fold first the slotted flap 7 and then the eared flap 8. While the blades are closed, thereby separating the flap 8 from the flap 7, a bifurcated member 72 rises and engages the ears of the flap 8, which are thus bent around the blade 71 and enter the slots 73 in the flap 7. In the next position, a rising plunger acting on the base of the carton completes the closing operation. Simultaneously with the closing of the bottom flaps 6, an oscillating arm engages the leading top flap 9 and bends it forwardly and outwardly into position to be engaged by a fixed guide 55, Fig. 1, which holds it outwardly and then turns the following flap 9 outwardly, so that the top of the carton is open for the insertion of the liner and the article to be packed. Inserting the liner into the carton. Corrugated liner blanks 80, Fig. 11, are moved along a container 79 so that the foremost blank engages rollers 85, 86. One or two oscillating suction jaws 89 withdraw the leading blank and feed it between jaws 98, 100 which then close and rotate together, thus winding the blank into a semicircular guide 111. The jaws then descend and release the liner into the carton through a square aperture in the guide 55, Fig. 1, in the position G. In the position J, a plunger descends and moves the liner 80, Fig. 15, to the bottom of the carton 5. The plunger is moved through spring-controlled means, the presence of the liner acting as an abutment to produce relative motion between the parts to raise a stop device 167 to control the feed of the articles to be packed, so that an article is supplied only to a carton with a correctly positioned liner. Inserting the lamp into the carton. The lamps 116, Fig. 15, to be packed are adapted to slide down an inclined guide 115 terminating in a tubular guide 117 arranged over the open end of the carton 5. During the previous operation of the machine, the stop 167 has been raised by mechanism dependent on the presence of the liner 80 to allow the lamps to move along the guide so that the foremost one is held by a stop 161. On the raising of the stop 161, the foremost lamp falls into the tubular guide 117 and rests on three spring claws 122. Inwardly-moving fingers 127 then hold the neck part to centre the cap 116<1> vertically below a dome 142 provided with a spring-controlled jaw 144. The dome then descends and grips the cap 116<1>, the fingers 127 are released, and the lamp is forced past the claws 122 into the liner 80. The jaw 144 is then released and the dome rises, while the stop 161, raised by the dome-lifting means, releases a further lamp for the next carton, provided the stop 167 has been raised by the presence of a liner in that carton. Closing the top flaps 9, 10, Fig. 5, of the carton. The following out-turned flap 9 of the filled carton is closed by a swinging arm, while the leading flap 9 is closed over the first flap by a fixed guide. In the next position, a moving blade turns the edge 11 of the upstanding flap at right-angles to the body part 10 by co-operation with a fixed blade. The flap 10 is then turned by a plough folding device into the position shown in Fig. 21. A blade 197 then descends to form a guide for the tongue 11 and, at the same time, a plate 199 presses on the flap 10 to complete the closure. The filled cartons are removed by a device 203, Fig. 1, to a conveyer 202 at the position W. Idle positions of the work table may be employed for supervising the operation of the machine, for printing the carton, for removing dirt, and for removing faulty cartons.