Collapsible container forming machine

Claim 1

A collapsible container forming machine comprising a source of elongated strip material, die means to longitudinally bend the strip material into an elongated hollow configuration having overlapping longitudinal margins, sealing means to secure the said margins in overlapping, fluid tight relationship, comprising an elongated guide mandrel to internally support the strip material, a discharge end on said mandrel, an elongated cut away portion in the guide mandrel underlying the overlapped margins, a first continuous belt rotatably supported within the cut away portion beneath the overlapped margins, a heat sealing head overlying the said margins, a source of heat in said heat sealing head, a second continuous rotatable belt in the heat sealing head, pressure means to move the second belt into contact with the said margins and against the first belt, a source of heat in the heat sealing head and means to energize the heat source while the said margins are pressed together between the first and second belts; means to sever body members of predetermined lengths from the sealed strip, a rotatable plate-like member, a plurality of elongated mandrels secured at one end to one major surface of said plate-like member and extending outwardly therefrom, a housing on the container forming machine spaced from the free ends of said mandrels, means to successively urge the body members upon the elongated mandrels, means to successively rotate the plate-like member and the mandrels through a series of stations, a pre-heating station for said body members including a source of heated air and means to direct the said air at the end of one of the body members, a flute forming station for the heated end of the body member comprising a flute forming assembly carried within the housing and extending outwardly therefrom in the direction of the mandrel, a series of equally spaced radial fins carried by the flute forming assembly, a complimentary series of radially disposed spaced fingers swingably carried by the flute forming assembly, means within the housing to advance the flute forming assembly to receive the heated end of the body member between the said fins and fingers, means to swing the said fingers to evenly press the heated end of the said body member against the said fins to form evenly spaced flutes in said body member, means to retract the flute forming assembly from the fluted end of the body member, a flute twisting station to receive the fluted end of the body member, at least one roller on the flute twisting station, means to rotate the fluted body member with respect to the said roller, means carried within the housing to advance the roller in the direction of the fluted end of the body member to impart a twisting action to the said flutes until a neck and shoulder are formed thereon, means to retract the said roller upon the completion of the twisting action, an outsert having a neck and threaded nozzle thereon and receivable upon the twisted flutes, an outsert loading station, means to position an outsert upon the fluted end of the body member, an outsert sealing station, a heat applying unit carried by the housing at the outsert sealing station and means to advance the heat applying unit so as to overlie the outsert on the body member to fuse the said outsert to the said body member.