APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FLATTENED, TUBULAR CONTAINER BLANKS

A pair of cooperating, rotating conveying elements are located adjacent to a storage station in which the tubular containers are temporarily stored. The tubular blanks in the storage station are oriented normal to the feed axis of the conveyor with the center of each blank approximately aligned with the conveyor feed axis. A pair of coaxial feeding blades located in the plane of the feed axis extend into the open ends of the blank. The blank when in the storage station is oriented with its open ends spaced along the common axis of the feeding blades. In operation, the feeding blades are moved centrally on their common axis so that their pointed ends extend almost to the center of the tube. The blades are then moved along the conveyor feed axis until the score line of one corner of the blank is driven into the nip of the conveyor. The blades then are raised to their original position and moved apart along their common axis until their tips are withdrawn far enough to clear aligned portions of the blank.