Carton unloading and erecting apparatus

An unloading and erecting apparatus has a frame fixed to a magazine holding a stack of flattened cartons, an outer horizontal guide on the frame, an outer horizontal slide horizontally displaceable on the outer horizontal guide and carrying a nonstraight outer vertical guide. A drive motor connected to the outer horizontal slide horizontally displaces same. A vertical guide on the frame carries a vertical slide and another drive motor connected to the vertical slide vertically displaces same. A shaft pivotal about a generally horizontal axis transverse to the forward direction on the vertical slide is fixed horizontally relative to the outer horizontal slide. A gripper fixed on and angularly displaceable with the shaft is engageable with the frontmost carton of the stack and carries a lever angularly coupled to the gripper and having offset from the axis a follower engaged in the vertical guide of the outer slide for, on vertical movement of the vertical slide, pivoting the gripper between a pick-off position engageable with the frontmost carton and a drop-off position directed downwardly above the conveyor.