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(11) | EP 0 149 435 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Cartoning machine for alimentary paste of the kind "Cannelloni" or the like |
| (57) A cartoning machine comprising in succession: a chute (1) for feeding the "cannelloni"
in bulk; a vibrating grid chute (2) for advancing the "cannelloni" which is associated
to means (23, 24, 25, 26) for the orderly arrangement thereof; a continuous belt conveyer
(3) for the longitudinal orientation one after the other; a continuous belt conveyer
(4) associated to a control station comprising means (44) for the integrity check,
means (45,46,47) for the dimension check and means (48) for ejecting the defective
pieces; a continuous storage belt conveyer (5); a continuous loading belt conveyer
(6); and a boxing station (7). The station (7) comprises a vertical loader (71) having
a cross section the dimensions of which are about equal to the diameter and the length
of the "cannelloni" and the height of which is such as to contain a number of "cannelloni"
greater than that to be introduced in a box or carton, the loader being associated
to at least a member (79), which can be vertically moved to support the column of
"cannelloni" within the loader (7), and to means (82) guiding the "cannelloni" to
be arranged within a box or carton (83) supplied by a well known machine. |
[0001] The present invention concerns a cartoning machine for alimentary paste of the kind socalled "cannelloni" which is formed by tubular members designed for being filled with a stuffing of meat or greens.
[0002] It is known that this kind of paste is rather fragile because of its typical tubular form having a relatively great diameter and a thin thickness, whereby the paste during the treatment process from the drying phase to the cartoning phase should be handled by special care. It is really evident that the paste of this kind cannot be cartoned or packed by introducing in the carton the "cannelloni" in bulk either because a constant and predetermined quantity of pieces could not be assured in each carton or because the "cannelloni" could easily break in such an operation.
For these reasons the cartoning of "cannelloni" has been hitherto carried out only manually.
[0003] The present invention seeks to mechanize this operation under control of a minicomputer by using an equipment comprising in succession a chute for feeding in bulk the paste such as "cannelloni" or the like, four operational assemblies serially connected along a substantially straight and horizontal stretch and a station for the loading of the "cannelloni" into cartons, the latter operation being carried out along a vertical stretch. Said operational assemblies comprise:
- a vibrating grid chute which has a slight slope from the loading end to the unloading end where a means is provided to supply the "cannelloni" one by one;
- a first continuous belt conveyer for the axial orientation of the paste pieces, which is provided with an inclined and a vertical side boards defining between each other a space in which a belt having a width slightly greater than that of a "cannellone" is running;
- a second continuous conveyer comprising two continuous belts which are running in unison and are arranged parallel with each other at a mutual distance lower than the diameter of a "cannellone", rolls being idle mounted on transversal shaft in the space between said belts, and a station for the integrity and size check of each "cannellone" and means to eject each non-integral or out of size "cannellone" being associated to said second conveyer;
- a third continuous storage belt conveyer similar to the previous one but covered by a cap which can be opened and advancing in both directions;
- a fourth continuous loading belt conveyer longer than but similar to the previous ones and associated to means for interrupting the further supply of paste to said conveyer and for stopping the motion of the belt; and
- a cartoning station operating in a vertical plane and comprising a vertical, tubular loader opened at both ends and having a rectangular cross section the width and the length of which are about equal to those of the paste member, the height of the loader being higher than the sum of the diameters of the "cannelloni" to be introduced in the underlying carton, and within the loader means being provided for supporting the column of "cannelloni" to be introduced in a carton, said means being connected through an arm to a continuous belt which is moving step by step, and without a transversal wall of the loader other means being provided which consists of a vertical blade having a width smaller than that of the carton and being parallel to the cross surfaces thereof, said blade being movable vertically in both directions thus allowing the "cannelloni" to be orderly arranged within the underlying carton, near the entrance of the loader a sensor being provided to sense the transit of each loaded "cannellone" and to supply a signal for advancing said belt by a step.
[0004] The equipment comprises also a traditional machine to supply the cartons under opened condition to the loading position and to remove them after the loading, means being provided responsive to the presence of a carton in the loading position.
[0005] The mechanized equipment according to the invention is operating under control of a minicomputer suitably programmed.
[0006] The main advantage of the cartoning equipment according to the present invention is that of saving labor in a particularly boring work such as that of taking one "cannellone" at a time and arranging it gently in its right position within the carton up to the complete filling thereof. Furthermore it allows the cartoning operation to be executed without the employed staff handling the paste and therefore it has the advantage of a greater hygiene compared with the manual cartoning. It should be still noted that the preliminary and complete check of each single "cannellone" gives a high efficiency to the operating process.
[0007] These and other features of the invention will be more evident from the following description of an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment of the invention to be considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figs. 1A and 1B together show a schematic top view partially cutaway of the cartoning equipment according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a detail of Fig. lA in enlarged scale and shows the station for checking and ejecting the non-integral and/or irregular "cannelloni";
Fig. 3 is the vertical, longitudinal, partial section in enlarged scale of the loading belt conveyer and of the upper part of the loader along the line A-A of Fig. lB; and
Fig. 4 is a frontal, partial elevation view taken from the plane B-B of Fig. lB of the cartoning station limited to the area of loading of the "cannelloni" into a carton.
[0008] With reference to Figs. lA and 1B to be considered together a feeding chute is generally designated by 1, a vibrating grid chute by 2, a continuous belt conveyer for the longitudinal orientation of the paste members such as "cannelloni" or the like by 3, a continuous double movable belt conveyer, in which the integrity and size check for each "cannellone" and the ejecting of the irregular and/or non-integral ones are carried out, by 4, a continuous double movable belt conveyer for the storage of the "cannelloni" by 5, a continuous double movable belt conveyer for the loading by 6, and a cartoning station by 7.
[0009] The chute 1 consists of a plane longitudinally inclined from the loading end to the unloading one and provided with side boards la and supplying the material in bulk to the vibrating chute 2. The vibrating chute 2 supported by a framework (not shown) consists of a grid provided with longitudinal inclined side boards 21. The grid chute is formed by longitudinal rods 22 connected by underlaying transversal bars 22a forming a support plane with longitudinal channels of small depth with respect to the diameter of the "cannelloni" in order to promote a longitudinal arrangement of the "cannelloni" supplied in bulk. In proximity to the unloading end, above the chute 22, 22a, upstanding walls 23 and 24 are provided one after the other slanting to the feeding direction of the "cannelloni", between which in combination with a cross bar 26 placed at suitable height a passageway being defined the dimensions of which are such that one "cannellone" at a time is supplied to an inclined and folded channel 25 having a slightly concave bottom. An alectric motor 27 transmits through an eccentric 28 a swift, longitudinal alternating movement to the vibrating grid chute 2. The channel 25 leads to the loading end of the following continuous belt conveyer 3 designed for aligning longitudinally the "cannelloni" one after the other. The continuous belt conveyer 3 comprises a stationary frame 31 and a continuous movable belt 32 which is wide essentially as much as the diameter of the "cannellone". A fixed, inclined side board 33 placed on the side where the material is unloaded from the channel 25 and a fixed, vertical side board 34 are provided along the longitudinal edges of the belt 32. The belt 32 is advanced by an electric motor 35. The continuous belt conveyer 4 following the belt conveyer 3 is provided with two fixed side boards 41 which are longitudinally inclined downwards to the longitudinal plane of simmetry of the belt conveyer 4 so that the lower edges thereof are spaced from each other approximately by a length smaller than the maximum diameter provided by the "cannelloni".
[0010] Two continuous, parallel belts 42 having a circular section are vertically aligned with said lower edges of the side boards 41 and are made for instance of plastic material, the upper spans of which being spaced from each other by a length smaller than the diameter of the "cannellone". Said upper spans of the belts 42 lie about at the same level as the lower edges of the side boards 41, whereby supporting each "cannellone" along longitudinal lines of contact of the lower part of the "cannellone", so that any other part thereof is free of any contact. The two belts 42 are supported by two coaxial end pulleys (not shown), one of which is driven, and by eventual, intermediate idle pulleys. The belts 42 act as support and advancing means for the "cannelloni". The space between the lower edges of the side boards 41 is empty except for idle rolls 142 having transversal axis. The pulley 40 transmitting the movement to the driven pulleys of the belts 42 is driven in this embodiment by the same motor 35 which drives the belt 32; it should have, however, a diameter smaller than that of the pulley 36 driving the belt 32 because the belts 42 should have a greater speed than that of the belt 32 in order to permit the "cannelloni" 100 to be somewhat spaced from each other to facilitate the check thereof. To the belt conveyer 4 an integrity and size control station is associated in order to eject the defective "cannelloni" from the conveying line. To this end the station comprises a first assembly for controlling the integrity of the "cannelloni" which is assembled on a rectangular transversal frame 144 including the side boards 41 and the belts 42.
[0011] On each horizontal arm of the frame 144 facing the path where the "cannelloni" 100 are running ultrasonic wave transmitting devices 44 are provided each of them is sensing a portion equal to a fourth of the cylindrical surface of each "cannellone" 100. Said devices 44 sense the integrity of a "cannellone" comparing the sensed parameters with the preset ones relative to an integral "cannellone" and supplying in case of a difference a signal which drives the ejector 48 described below. A second assembly for checking of the length of the "cannellone" is provided after said first checking assembly 44. Said second assembly is provided with photoelectric cell sensors 45, 46, 47 located along the path in the feeding direction of the material such that the distance between the first sensor 45 and the second sensor 46 is equal to the minimum allowed length of the "cannelloni" and the distance between the first sensor 45 and the third sensor 47 is equal to the maximum allowed length of the "cannelloni". Also this assembly supplies a signal when the circuit of all cells 45, 46, 47 is opened or when the circuit of the photoelectric cell 45 is closed before the circuit of the photoelectric cell 46 is closed. The compressed air ejector 48 with jet directed upwards is placed in an intermediate position between the sensors 45, 46 and the belts 42 beneath the latter. The air is conveyed through a pipe 49 controlled by a valve 149 (Figs. lA, 2) which opens in response to a signal supplied by the sensing means 44 or 45, 46, 47. Beyond the control statition the belt conveyer 5 is provided with a cover 54 which can be opened and is formed by a plate preferably of transparent plastic material such as "plexiglass" hinged at 154 on the upper edge of one of the side boards 41 (shown in opened condition in Figs. lA, 1B and 2) and abuting against the edges of the side boards 41.
[0012] The continuous belt conveyer 5 has a length such as to allow the "cannelloni" to be stored therein before their loading.
[0013] The continuous belt conveyer 5 consists as the previous one of inclined side boards 51 between which pairs of continuous belts 52 are running, said belts looking like rings and running in londitudinal vertical planes around pulleys mounted at the ends of the belt conveyer; at least one of which being driven. Such a belt conveyer is identic in its structure to the previous one and comprises in turn supporting idle rolls 152. A plate cover 54 identic to that of the belt conveyer 4 is hinged on the upper edge of one of the side boards 51. The driven pulleys of the belts 52 are driven by a gearing connected to a compressed air motor 53 operating in both directions.
[0014] The continuous loading belt conveyer 6 (Figs. 1B and 3), which is placed in succession to the storage belt conveyer 5, is similar to the latter in its structure, i.e. it is provided with inclined side boards 61, guiding idle rolls 162, continuous belts 62 running in longitudinal, vertical planes around end pulleys 262, at least one of which being driven. Said driven pulleys are driven by an electric motor 63.
[0015] The longitudinal axis of the loading belt conveyer 6 is, however, inclined with respect to the horizontal plane upwardly in the feeding direction of the material in order to guide the "cannelloni" toward the loader 71 disclosed below.
[0016] The belts 62 of the loading belt conveyer 6 are driven by said motor 63 with a speed greater than that of the belts 52 of the previous belt conveyer 5 in order to provide a new separation between the paste members 100. Said belt conveyer 6 is provided with a photoelectric cell sensor 64 preferably mounted between the entrance ends of the side boards 61 of the belt conveyer 6 and at a height such that the beam is intercepted by the advancing "cannellone". The sensor is connected to a circuit which is normally closed. A stopping device is provided near the input end of the belt conveyer 6. It consists of a transversal, vertical gate means 69 the height of which can be adjusted acting on a supporting L-shaped arm 67 integral with the stem 68 (Fig. 3) of the piston of a hydraulic cylinder 66 having vertical axis supported by a bracket 167.
[0017] The cartoning station 7 (Figs. 1B, 3 and 4) is provided at the end of the loading belt conveyer 6 in the feeding direction of the material. The cartoning station 7 (Fig. 4) comprises a framework 70 supporting a stationary loader 71 consisting of a vertical, hollow member having open ends and a substantially rectangular cross section of length and width slightly greater than those of a "cannellone" 100 and being provided at its upper end with a loading mouth located in proximity of the end of the loading belt conveyer 6 and limited by two longitudinal, inclined side boards 72 and by a transversal, vertical side board 72a. The height of the loader 71 is such as to allow the "cannelloni" 100 to be contained therein over one another with horizontal and parallel axis in a number greater than that necessary to fill a carton 83. At one of its longitudinal walls the loader 71 is provided with a slot 73 extending vertically along the corresponding entrance side board 72 as far as the height of the loader 71. An arm 79a sustaining a support member of the column of "cannelloni" 100 can pass through the slot 73 when the member 79 is being entered the loader 71. The arm 79a at its other end is hinged on a chain 74 passing aroud three pulleys 76, 77, 78 having horizontal, parallel but non- coplanar axis, one of the pulleys 76 or 77 being driven by a step motor 75 suitably fastened to the framework 70. In Fig. 4 the upper pulley 76 is driven, the lower pulley 77 is idle and the third pulley is placed in an intermediate position 78 on its support so as to be shifted acting as' a chain tightening device. Three support members 79 are provided with arms 79a linked to the chain 74 at positions equidistant from one another along the chain 74. The respective arms 79a can rotate in counterclockwise direction and viceversa together with the respective support members 79 from the operating position forming an angle of 90" with the chain 74 to a position parallel to the chain 74. When the chain 74 is advancing in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 the arms 79a with the respective support members 79 enter successively the side boards 72, 72a and reach the inside of the loader 71 sliding along the slot 73. A vertical hydraulic cylinder 80 is mounted on the wall of the loader 71 apart from the wall where the slot 73 is provided. The stem 81 of the piston is integral with a plate 82 through an arm 82a which is sliding along the outer surface of the longitudinal wall of the loader and can be pulled down by the piston of the cylinder 80 so as to introduce the plate 82 within the carton 83 designed for being filled with the "cannelloni" 100. Thus a transversal wall is created acting as a temporary transversal wall supporting the "cannelloni" 100 at about 2/3 of the length of the carton, in this example a carton 83 being provided with three columns of "cannelloni" 100. The function of the supporting plate will be more evident below.
[0018] Furthermore, between the two opposite walls of the loader 71 at the entrance thereof a photoelectric cell sensor 65 is provided for sensing the transit of each "cannellone" 100 and for generating a signal driving the rotation step by step of the shaft of the motor 75 and the advancement of the chain 74. Obviously, each step of the chain 74 has to correspond to a lowering of the support member 79 by a length equal to the diameter of one "cannellone". The cartoning station 7 comprises also a well known machine, which is then not shown into detail, for the supplying of a carton 83 beneath the loader 71 with the closing edges 83a thereof under opened conditions, the carton 83 being removed at the end of the loading operation. A microswitch 84 is provided at the cartoning station when the "cannelloni" 100 are introduced into the carton 83. It closes when a carton 83 arrives to the loading station, and supplies a signal driving the lowering stroke of the piston of the cylinder 80 and then the introduction of the plate 82 into the carton 83. -The functioning-of -the devices which are controlled by a central programmed minicomputer is the following:
The "cannelloni" 100 are supplied in bulk through the chute 1 to the vibrating chute 2. Due to the swift alternating motion and the slight slope of the latter the "cannelloni" advance on the grid bottom provided with longitudinal guide rods 22 between the side boards 21 first of all in bulk and then initiate to orientate longitudinally, the eventual fragments of paste falling down through the grid bottom 22, 22a. Only one "cannellone" 100 at a time passes under the bar 26 hitting against the oblique walls 23 and 24 and descends the inclined channel 33 falling down on the inclined side board 25 of the belt conveyer 3 for the longitudinal, coaxial alignment of the "cannelloni" 100. Each "cannellone" is guided by the side boards 33, 34 so as to take a position substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the belt conveyer 3 driven by the motor 35 even if it falls down against the inclined side board 33 under any orientation. Thus the "cannelloni" 100 come to a coaxial arrangement in a row after one another and are conveyed by the belt 32 to the next belt conveyer 4. As above mentioned this conveyer is without bottom except for the idle rolls 142 which provide for the supporting of the "cannelloni" 100, the lower portion of which being sustained and conveyed by pairs of continuos belts 42. While advancing on the belt conveyer 4 each "cannellone" is subjected to a check in the station controlling the integrity and the length thereof. Ultrasonic waves used for the integrity check are emitted by four devices 44, each of them allows the integrity of a "cannellone" 100 to be checked as far as a fourth of the surface thereof and controls the ejection by means of the compressed air ejector 48 in case the scanned portion of the "cannellone" is not integral. The air jet emitted by the ejector 48 expels upwardly the defective "cannellone" without the other "cannelloni" being influenced (the location of the "cannellone" 100 in the check station is shown in Fig. 2 with dashed lines). The ejected "cannellone" is then removed from the equipment, for example, by means of a conveyer and supplied to an adjacent container (not shown) either for being crushed or for being processed as by-product for zootechnical purposes.
[0019] If the "cannellone" 100 is perfect in its structure, it is successively subjected to the check of its length. It is in fact necessary that each "cannellone" has the predetermined dimensions so that the right filling of the carton 83 can be achieved. A transversal beam array generated by the photoelectric cells 45, 46 and 47 provides for the check of the length. If the ray beams generated by the photoelectric cells 45 and 46 are at the same time and at least once interrupted by an advancing "cannellone" and the ray beam of the photoelectric cell 47 is not interrupted, the checked "cannellone" 100 has a length in the desired field of tolerance. If on the other hand the ray beams of the photoelectric cells 45, 46 and 47 are at the same time and at least once interrupted, this means that the "cannellone" is too long and an ejecting control signal is automatically supplied to the ejector 48 which is then operated and expels the checked "cannellone".
[0020] If the ray beam generated by the photoelectric cell 46 but not the ray beam generated by the photoelectric cell 45 is interrupted, this means that the "cannellone" is too short, thus a signal being generated causing the ejection thereof.
[0021] The "cannelloni" should pass through the check station at a certain distance from one another. To this end the speed of the belt 32 is adjusted so as to be slightly lower than that of the belts 42, different velocity ratio being provided between the shaft of the motor 35 and the driven pulley 36 driving in turn the belt 32 and the pulley 40 driving in turn the pulleys of the belts 42 (Fig. 2). The "cannelloni" that have overtaken the check station are conveyed one after the other to the storage belt conveyer 5 and are captured and forwarded by the belts 52. The storage belt conveyer 5 has a length such as to allow a great number of "cannelloni" to be supported thereon. The portion of the belt conveyer following the check station and the belt conveyer 5 are provided with covers 54 which can be opened and have the function to prevent the escape of the "cannelloni". After having run on the whole belt conveyer 5 the "cannelloni" 100 are fed to the last belt conveyer 6, i.e. the loading conveyer.
[0022] Unlike the preceding belt conveyers 3 and 4 having a length such as to contain a limited number of "cannelloni" 100, the loading belt conveyer 6 should have a greater length and the trailing means 52 have a speed such as to allow the "cannelloni" to be spaced from one another in order to be arranged into the loader 71 and then into the carton 83 as well as to always have a sufficient number of "cannelloni" as spare.
[0023] The process of loading the "cannelloni" 100 into the loader 71 provided with side boards 72, 72a as well as the operation of introducing the "cannelloni" 100 into the carton 83 will be now described with reference to the Figs. 3 and 4.
[0024] Each introduction of a "cannellone" into the loader 71 is sensed by the photoelectric cell sensor 65 which supplies each time a signal allowing the chain 74 to be advanced by a step, the extent of which is equal to the diameter of a "cannellone", by means of the step motor 75. At the beginning of the loading of the "cannelloni" into the loader 71 one of the members 79, 79a is already placed within the loader 71 just beneath the upper loading end so that it is going down step by step in response to the signal supplied by the sensor 65 to the motor 75. When the supporting members 79, 79a, which are within the loader 71, arrive at a predetermined distance from the output end thereof where a microswitch 86 is placed, the latter is operated by the arm 79a, thereby activating the machine which provides for the supplying, opening and removing of the cartons 83 which are placed with their edges 83a under opened conditions beneath the loader 71.
[0025] The carton 83 operates in turn the microswitch 84 causing through the hydraulic cylinder 80 the lowering of the stem 81 of the piston that in turn allows the plate 82 to be lowered within the carton 83 almost up to the bottom thereof. When the arm 79a with the supporting member 79 which supports the prescribed number of "cannelloni" 100 to be introduced into a carton 83 comes out of the loader 71, the "cannelloni" initiate to gently enter the carton 83. They do not place themselves in bulk therein as the plate 82 forms within the carton a channel with the nearest longitudinal wall of the carton 83. The plate 82 is then raised again when the arm 79a of the supporting member 79 operates on leaving the loader 71 the switch 85 which controls the backward stroke of the piston of the cylinder 80. In the meanwhile another supporting member 79 is introduced into the loader 71, in which the "cannelloni" for the next carton are loaded.
[0026] The sensor 64,.which is designed for sensing the transit of the "cannelloni" 100 and for their counting, supplies after having counted the predetermined number of "cannelloni" 100 a signal that stops the motor 63, shifts back by one step the motor 53 and operates the hydraulic cylinder 66, thus causing the lowering of the stopper gate 69.
[0027] After the gate 69 is lowered the "cannelloni" continue accumulating on the belt conveyer 5 as long as the stopper gate 69 remains lowered, i.e. until another carton 83 comes to the loading position, whereby the microswitch 84 is closed thus enabling the gate 69 to be raised and the motors 53, 63 and 75 to be operated again. It should still be noted that there is no risk for the "cannelloni" of coming out of the storage belt conveyer 5 because the latter is closed on the upper side by the cover 54.
- a vibrating grid chute (2) provided at the opposite end with respect to loading end with means (23, 24, 25, 26) to advance the "cannelloni" one at a time according to a longitudinal orientation;
- a continuous belt conveyer (3) for the longitudinal alignment of the "cannelloni" along the same axis comprising a continuous horizontal belt (32) which is running longitudinally and has a width just greater than the diameter of the "cannelloni" and is defined by a longitudinal side board (33) inclined towards the belt (32) and by a vertical, longitudinal side board (34);
- a continuous belt conveyer (4) provided with side boards (41) inclined downwards and to the vertical, longitudinal plane of simmetry (A-A) of the belt conveyer and defining a longitudinal opening on the bottom in which transversal supporting idle rolls (142) are provided, wherein the means allowing the "cannelloni" to be advanced consists of two continuous longitudinal belts (42) supported at-their ends by pulleys, at least one of which is driven, said belts being parallel and spaced from each other by a length lower than the diameter of the "cannelloni" supported thereby at their lower side, along the belt conveyer (4) a station being provided comprising means (44) checking the integrity of each "cannellone", means (45, 46, 47) checking the length thereof and means (48) for the ejection of the defective "cannelloni";
- a continuous storage belt conveyer (5) having a structure similar to that of the belt conveyer (4) but a length greater than the previous ones and comprising trailing belts (52), supporting idle rolls (152) and side boards (51) over which a cover (54) which can be opened is mounted;
- a continuous loading belt conveyer (6) having a structure similar to that of the preceding belt conveyers (4 and 5) and comprising trailing belts (62), supporting idle rolls (162) and side boards (61), said conveyer being upwardly inclined from the input end to the output end for the material, at the input end a gate (69) being provided to prevent the entrance of the "cannelloni" and a photoelectric cell sensor-counter (64) to sense the transit of each "cannellone" and for the counting thereof so as to supply a signal that closes the gate (69) when the right number of "cannelloni" to be introduced into a carton has been counted, furthermore comprising:
- a cartoning station (7) extending vertically and comprising a hollow loader (71), the loading mouth of which is placed in front of and just beneath the w unloading end of the belt conveyer (6) having on one hand a rectangular cross section with a width just greater than the diameter of a "cannellone" and a length just greater than that thereof, the loader (71) having on the other hand a height greater than the sum of the diameters of the "cannelloni" to be introduced into a carton (83) ' which is placed beneath the unloading mouth thereof, to the loader (71) at least a member (79) being associated which can be vertically adjusted to support within the loader (71) the column of the "cannelloni" to be introduced into a carton (83), said member (79) being provided with an arm (79a) and means (74) being provided to introduce the member (79) into the loader (71), to lower it step by step by an extent equal to the diameter of one "cannellone" and to extract and then to introduce it from the top; means (82) being provided to guide the "cannelloni" along the down stroke of the loader (71) within the carton (83) and sensor means to sense each "cannellone" entering the loader (71) and controlling the shift by one step of each member (79), said cartoning station comprising a well known machine to supply the cartons (83) to the loading station under opened conditions and to remove them therefrom after the loading operation.