Loading Bags or Sachets into a Carton

1,167,854. Packaging machines; orientation of packages, e.g. tea bags. MARDON, SON & HALL Ltd. 24 Jan., 1968 [9 Nov., 1966], No. 50105/66. Headings B8C and B8S. Packages of flowable material, i.e. tea bags and like sachets which tend to become thicker towards one end than the other, are fed into cartons alternately from opposite directions so that they stack with the ends of alternate packages reversed. The sachets 13 are tipped in pairs from a conveyer 20 into a funnel 19, leading to twin passages 25, 26 down which, the sachets fall, dependent on the position of a flap 28. This flap is operated by sensors 40 and 41 which count the pairs falling down the respective passage, and cause an actuator to switch the flap over after each pair has passed. After a certain number of movements of the flap a cumulative signal from the sensors activates a solenoid 37 to lift a stop 36 to release the full carton 11 and permit infeed by a continuously moving conveyer 10, of an empty carton. Air jets from pipes 33 and 34 blow on to the sachets to keep them settled in the carton. Air jets could replace the flap 28.