APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING ARTICLES AND/OR PACKING ARTICLES

1,208,606. Moving articles into cartons; air cushion conveyers; endless conveyers. MARDON, SON & HALL Ltd. 13 June, 1968 [24 Aug., 1967], No. 38958/67. Headings B8A and B8C. Articles, e.g. flexible pouches containing granular material, to be packaged are placed on a perforate platform and air is blown through the platform to move an article into a carton positioned adjacent the platform. The invention also relates to means for blowing articles from a first endless conveyer on to a second endless conveyer running side by side with the first, the first conveyer including a number of perforate platforms on which the articles initially rest. As shown, a conveyer 10 includes a number of open-ended box-formations 15, the open ends of which are moved successively into registry with the outlet of an air blower 22. The upper wall 14 of each box-formation is perforated, each perforation, Fig. 2 (not shown), being such as to form an air channel directed towards an adjacent conveyer 26. The air issuing through these channels blows an article 20a into an open-ended carton, e.g. a tray 28a, located between one of a number of pairs of walls 27 carried by conveyer 26. In an alternative embodiment, a line of articles is advanced along a single perforate platform towards a packing station, delivery of the leading article to the packing station being prevented until a carton is available at the station.