US2974458A - Wrapping apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

March 14, 1961 MUSKAT EI'AL 2,974,458

WRAPPING APPARATUS AND METHOD 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1959 LauzlzE/jiwfia 11670 1052201 J5 mfg; 506 W March 14, 1961 R. MUSKAT EIAL 2,974,458

WRAPPING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed June 29, 1959 4 Shets-Sheet 2 March 14, 1961 MUsKAT ETAL 2,974,458

WRAPPING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed June 29, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 14, 1961 R. MUSKAT ETA]. 2,974,458

WRAPPING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed June 29, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 WRAPPFNG APPARATUS AND METHOD Louis R. Muskat, Glenview, King L. Klopfeustein, Prospect Heights, and .lohn E. Kleboe, Chicago, Ill, assignors to Triangle Package Machinery Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Filed June 29, 1959, Ser. No. 823,570

12 Claims. (Cl. 53-206) This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus adapted to facilitate the performance of certain steps or parts of the operation of wrapping or packaging products of various kinds.

This invention relates more particularly to methods and apparatus for aiding in performing certain steps or parts of what is generally known as the diamond Wrap.

Heretofore several types of apparatus have been devised for use in aiding in the performance of the preliminary steps or part of the wrapping operation. However, all of the methods of and apparatus for use in this connection are open to one or more objections. It will be understood that the products to be wrapped vary widely in size and in thickness or depth; also, that a typical type wrapper sheet comprises heat-sealable transparent sheet material which is thin and flexible in character.

customarily a stack of square sheets is provided on a table and usually held in a tray disposed upon the top of a table or other surface so that the sheets can be successively removed from the top of the stack in such a way that diagonally opposite corners of the sheet are brought together on the underside of the package in overlapping relation and later sealed. Later, the other two corners of the sheet are folded under the package and sealed, thus binding all four corners of the wrapper sheet together, thereby completing thewrap. The present invention is not concerned with the performance of the last-mentioned operations but only with the wrapping of the first two corners around the package. For convenience, this preliminary wrap will sometimes be herein termed a partial wrap.

Because of the wide range of product sizes, it is customary to provide a number of sheet sizes and, for convenience, to provide a plurality of trays of diiferent sizes, each adapted to hold a stack of sheets. These trays are designed to be placed on and removed from a table or the like where the partial wrap is performed, in order to provide sheets of theproper size. For best results it is'necessary that the tray be so located relative to the package to be wrapped that the corner of the wrapper sheet which is disposed below the article to be wrapped be so positioned that when the opposite corner of the sheet is wrapped over and around the articleor package the other two corners will be properly located relative to the package or article. 7

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a method and means whereby a tray holding a stack of sheets can be placed on and removed from the table or other support and quickly and easilyadjusted relative to the package or article to be Wrapped.

In order to prevent undesired shiftingof the wrapper sheet in the stack when in position for a wrapping operation, it has beencustomary in certain instances to pro vide means for piercing at least several of the top sheets through the leading or forward corner of the' stack of sheets. Such means se'rvesa useful purpose.;- However,

Patented Mar. i l, 19%

on the table or support and stacks of sheets of diiferent sizes are positioned on the table, the piercing means enters the sheet at difierent distances inwardly from the forward corner. When the piercing means is located inwardly a considerable distance, trouble is encountered in the wrapping operation; that is to say, when the top sheet which is withdrawn from the stack to permit it to be wrapped around the article an unsightly tear of substantial length resulted in the corner portion of the sheet.

Under the conditions just described, at times the sheet would bunch up at the point of piercing, resulting in the accumulation of scrap material adjacent the point of piercing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus by the use of which the forward corner of the sheet will be pierced at all times the same distance inwardly, and that relatively a short distance, even though the sheets be large or small, thereby avoiding the objectionable action resulting from the piercing of the sheet at a relatively great distance inwardly of the corner.

It should be understood that in forming the so-called diamond wrap, the wrapper sheet should be so placed under the article or package to be wrapped that when the sheet has been wrapped around the package to dis pose the remote corner under the package the other two corners of the sheet should be disposed substantially along a line at right angles to a line extending through the first two corners of the sheet, the first-mentioned line also being located substantially centrally of the package from front to rear. To accomplish such positioning of the sheet, adjustment of the sheet forwardly or rearwardly with respect to the article or package to be Wrapped may be necessary. Hereto fore in certain constructions, when such shifting of the stack of sheets was necessary in order properly to locate the top sheet, the needle or other piercing member had to be lifted, held in raised position until the proper adjustment was made, and then again restored to sheet-piercing position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus by the use of which adjustment of the stack of sheets forwardly or rearwardly, in order properly to orient the-into the package to be wrapped, can be made without the necessity of lifting or disturbing in any way the means which pierces the leading corner of the sheets.

Again it is an object of the invention to provide a supporting structure for the article or package to be Wrapped which will be better adapted to receive, support, and position the article or package when the article is disposed merely on a flat sheet or paper board having little thickness.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be obvious from the following description considered in connection with the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment and in which Figure l is a top plan view. of apparatus embodying of a relatively large package.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view along the line 22 of Fig. 1 but on a larger scale, the stack of sheets being shown in elevation and ,a package to be wrapped being shown by means of dot and dash linesfor illustrative purposes;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line '3-3 of Fig. 1 but on the scale of Fig-,2.

when such piercing means is located in al fixed position Fig. 4 is atop perspective view of the apparatus of Fig. l, as viewed from the rear, with the package or sheets being omitted for illustrative purposes.

Fig. 5 is a front perspective view as viewed along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the article or package-supporting structure adjusted for use in wrapping a relatively small package.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of certain structure forming a part of the article or package support.

Fig. 8 is a detailed transverse vertical sectional view through an adjustable package-centering guide.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of a tray used for the stack of wrapper sheets showing certain means for locating it on a tray-supporting structure which is adapted to be slidably mounted on the worktable.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the top sheet of the stack is positioned in the course.

of wrapping the sheet around the package or article.

Fig. 12 is a detailed fragmentary view illustrating the manner in which a part of the article support is adapted for swinging adjustment between a position in which it is disposed for use when wrapping relatively small packages and one in which it is located when wrapping relatively large packages.

Fig. 13 is a face view of one of the swingable plate members comprising a part of the package-supporting structure.

Fig. 14 is a bottom plan view of a package in the stage of being wrapped corresponding substantially to that illustrated in Fig. 11, and

Fig. 15 is a bottom view of the partially wrapped package in the condition in which the overlapping corners of the sheet are adapted to be sealed in a well-known manner, as, for example, by pressing against a heating element.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, represents a table, the top 21 of which is supported at suitable height on legs 22.

As a matter of convenience in description the righthand side of Fig. 1 will be termed the front of the table or other support.

At the front of the table there is provided bracket structure which, as a whole, is designated by the numeral 23 and which is shown detached in Fig. 7. The bracket structure 23 comprises a pair of bracket members having upright leg portions 23L and horizontally disposed articlesupporting portions 23H. The two bracket members are spaced apart by means of two angle iron members 24, the ends of the upper flange portions of which are welded to the underside of the horizontal portion 23H of the bracket structure 23. As is clearly shown in Figs. 2, 6,

and 7 the angle members 24 are spaced apart so as to form a slot 24S between the vertically disposed portions 24V of the angle members 24, the purpose of which will shortly appear.

As clearly appears in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, the leg portions of the bracket structure are secured to the table legs and top by means of suitable fastening devices 25 in such manner as to dispose the portions 23H in spaced overhanging relation with respect to the table top. There is thus provided a substantial space between the underside of the portions 231-1 and the top of the table, the purpose of which will shortly appear.

Secured to the underside of each of the two horizontal portions 23H of the bracket structure23 is a plate member 26. Since the arrangement and construction of each of the plate members is alike, a description of one will suffice for both. Each plate member has a configuration as shown in detail in Fig. 13. The plate 2 6 is swingably mounted on the bracket portion 23H by means of a stud member 27 which projects downwardly through the opening 28 in the said plate portion. An expansion spring 29 is disposed around the stud 27 between the washer 30 and the underside of plate 26 and tends to press the'plate 2 6 1 into paralel relation to the bottom faceof bracket portion 23H. On the upper side of plate-26 there is provided a circular projection 30 of a size adapted to fit into the opening 31 in bracket portion 23H when the plate is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 to form an extension of the article or package-supporting portion 23H of bracket structure 23. That is the position shown by means of full lines in Figs. 1 and 2 for use in wrapping relatively large packages. I

The other position is shown by means of dot and dash lines in Fig. 1 and by means of full lines in Figs. 4 and 6. When in the latter position, the projection 30' is disposed at one side of the bracket portion 23H (as shown in Figs. 4 and 6) so that no part of the plate 26 projects rearwardly beyond'the margin 23M of bracket portion 23H. This is the position in which the plate member is disposed when wrapping relatively small packages.

In order to swing the plate 26 between the two positions just mentioned, it is necessary to apply downward pressure to the free end of plate 26, which is the condition depicted in Fig. 12. When the projection 30' becomes aligned with opening 31 in bracket portion 23H it will snap thereinto under the urging of spring 29. Also, when the projection 30' is disposed beyond the bottom side of bracket portion 23H, plate 26 will again be urged into intimate contact throughout, with the underside of bracket portion 23H, as is best shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that there is always presented a substantially smooth fiat portion to receive and support the article or package to be wrapped, whether the plates 26 be disposed in one or the other of the positions indicated. At the same time, when plates 26 are swung to the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, they provide projecting portions which prevent the relatively large articles tilting to a dangerous angle.

In order to locate the package on the supporting bracket portions 23H in a front to rear position, there is provided structure which is shown in detail and detached in Figs. 8 and 9, and in operative relation with other structure in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. This package-locating structure, which as a whole bears the numeral 35, comprises an elongated inverted U-shaped member having depending flange or leg portions 36 and a top or web-connecting portion 37. The legs 36 also comprise portions 38 which extend downwardly to a greater extent than do other portions of the legs. The length of the portions 38 is such that either thereof fits nicely between the confronting marginal portions 23C of the legs 23L of bracket members 23, or extends into the slots 248 of angle members 24 (see Figs. 2 and 6) depending upon the placement of the member 35 i as a whole.

As will be explained in detail later, the member 35 can not only occupy either of the two positions shown in Figs. 2 and 6, but can also be reversed end for end.

. Associated with member 35 is an elongated gauge bar as mounted for sliding movement, by brackets 41, in the space between the legs 36 of member 35. The bar 40 has aifixcd to one end thereof a finger member 42 which extends at right angles to bar member 40.

The bar 40 is held in any placed position by means of the cambered spring 43, best shown in Fig. 8. The functioning of structure 35 will be explained later when explaining the wrapping operation. However, from what has already been described, it should be clear that structure 35 can easily and quickly be placed in either of the positions indicated in Figs. 2 and 6, also reversed end for end, and that the finger member 42 being secured by a fastener 42F can also be easily and quickly reversed so that it extends away from the bar 40 in a direction which is rearwardly of the bracket portions 23H, whether Wrapper sheet tray construction In practice a considerable number of different size sheets are necessary to provide the best results in wrapping packages or articles which vary between wide ranges as to size and as to thickness or depth. Conveniently, therefore, a separate tray is provided for each size sheet, the tray being adapted to hold a stack of sheets in superposed relation. Since these trays are alike in construction, except as to size, a description of one will suflice for all.

The wrapper-holding tray, as a whole, is designated by the numeral 50. It comprises a bottom plate portion 51 of rectangular shape in plan. Along two of the rear sides there are upstanding wall portions 52, 53 which meet at the rear corner, at which point there is located an upstanding portion 54 that supports a bracket 55 in which there is a tapped aperture 56. Through the aperture 56 there extends a needle member 57 having a distal end 58 which pierces a rear corner portion of at least several of the upper wrapper sheets in such manner as to retain teh stack of sheets on the tray or holder, but at the same time permitting manual removal of the sheets, one at a time, as is required to perform the partial wrapping operation.

The tray or holder 50 is designed to be placed upon and quickly removed from a carriage which is slidably mounted on the table top and which will be described shortly. In order that the tray or holder 50 can be located and held in the correct position on the carriage structure, it is provided with bar members 60 and 61 which are affixed to the bottom face of the bottom member 51 and which are so arranged that the edge portions 62 and 63 are disposed at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to each other.

As will appear shortly, portions of the bottom of the tray are adapted to engage upstanding portions of the carriage member, whereas part of the tray extends rearwardly of the carriage, for which reason the tray is provided at the rear corner with a downwardly extending lug 64 for engagement with the table top (see Fig. 3).

The tray-holding carriage and associated parts The tray-holding carriage as a whole bears the numeral 70. It comprises two plate members 71 of like shape. They are held in spaced relation by a front spanner plate member 72 and a rear spanner plate member 73, which are affixed thereto as by welding. There is thus provided an elongated slot 74 (best shown in Fig. 4) adapted snugly to receive a bar member 75 affixed to and upstanding from the table top. Swingably attached to the carriage 70, as by means of arms 76, and binge members 77 is a crossbar 78, the latter having a centrally disposed opening '79 through which projects a sharp needle-like member 80, carried by the member 81 detachably affixed to the upper side of crossbar 7 8.

Secured to and intermediate the sides and on theupper face of the table top 21 is a bar member 75 which is substantially parallel to the table sides. It extends from a point adjacent the front edge of the table, a substantial distance rearwardly therefrom. The bar 75 is of such width that it is accommodated snugly in the central space 74 between the two plate members- 71 of the carriage 70. Thus, when the carriage 70 is placed on the table top, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the carriage can be moved toward or awayfrom the frontedge ofthe rectilinear path by the guide method of operation.

7 Method of forming the partial wrap The operation of forming the partial Wrap will first be described in connection witharelat'ively large package or the inner side 'of' the package-supporting extensions of the bracket portions 23H. This provides adequate support area for the relatively large package 90, as indicated by means of dot and dash lines in Figs. 1 and 2. As there shown, the product 91 is contained in a product tray 92, the bottom .of which rests in part upon the upper surface of the bracket portions 23H. The extension plates 26 prevent any substantial tilting of the overhanging portion of the tray.

Movement of the package in a forward direction is prevented by engagement of the leading wall 92L of the product-holding tray 92 with the stop member 35, one leg of which is disposed in the slot 248 and the other leg of which lies, along the outer face of bracket 23.

Properly to center the package on the support the gauge bar is positioned so that one side of the package or product-holding tray will be in engagement with the finger 42 of the shiftable bar 45.

If desired, the member 35 can be reversed end for end, in which event the finger portion 42 will be rotated 180 degrees in order to cause it to extend rearwardly of the front edge 20E of the table, as otherwise it would extend away from the table top.

. It'will be understood that tray 59, holding a stack of wrapper sheets of the proper size, will be in position on the carriage 70. In placing the tray 50 on the carriage, the end portions 60E and 61B of bars 69 and 61 on the bottom of the tray will contact the sides 723 of the carriage cross member '72, and the sides 62 and 63 of said bars will engage the angular edge portions 73E of the member 73. It will also be understood that in placing the wrapper sheet-holding tray-5d on the carriage, the carriage bar member 78 will be lifted so that it will lie upon and press against the uppermost sheet of the stack with the needle member piercing several of the sheets of the stack.

While the wrapper sheet-holding trays 56 may vary considerably in size and a considerable number are used in actual practice only, two sizes are indicated in Fig. 1, one by full lines and the other by broken lines, the arrangement and position of the bar members 60 and 61 on'the' bottom of the tray, with respect to the forward corner, are always the same. 'It follows, therefore, that the needle or knife member will always pierce the wrapper sheet at the same distance inwardly of the lead mg corner of the sheet and relatively close thereto, whether the tray be a relatively large one holding a stack of relatively large wrapper sheets, or. a relatively small tray holding a stack of relatively small sheets.

Assume that the operator has placed a package to be wrapped on the support and that the operator is positioned at the far side of the table of Fig. 1 and, as indicated by the arms of the operationin Fig. 11, in which LH indicates'th'e left hand and RH the right hand. The left hand is used to take the upper sheet from beneath the end 58 of pin 57. The wrapper sheet is then brought up over the top of the package, drawing it firmly against package and, by continued movement, drawing it tightly over the top of the package as shown in Figs. 2 and 11, the stop 35 preventing shifting of the package forwardly of the support. At this time the two other corners, C3 and C4 of the wrapper sheet, shouldbe substantially aligned along the center line .C C, indicated by dot and dash lines (see Fig. 14), which indicatedcenter line is atright angles to a line extending through corners City and C2. In theevent the corners C 3 and C4 are forward of the center line C C of the package, the carriage 7h shouldbe moved forward-until the said corners, C3 and C4, are substantially aligned with the center of the package. If the said corners are rearwardly of the said center line, then in that event, the carriage should be moved rearwardly. This description assumes that one is viewing the package from above. It is not necessary to remove the package from its support to enable this adjustment to be made, and, of course, there is no disturbance of the stack of wrapper sheets on the tray. When properly adjusted the right hand is moved into position with the fingers underneath the package and the thumb on top, as indicated in Fig. 11. Because of the penetration of the several sheets of the stack of sheets by the needle and the pressure of pressure bar 78 downwardly on the stack, rearward movement of the uppermost wrapper sheet is somewhat resisted. This restriction permits the operator to pull on the uppermost wrapper sheet (after freed from needle point 58) in a direction to move the same upwardly and away from the forward corner of the stack and to place the sheet under some tension. In the course of this swinging movement the wrapper sheet would extend generally upwardly and rearwardly, as indicated by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, prior to being moved forward to the full line position as shown in Figs. 2 and 11 and as before explained.

The right hand is now in a position to lift the package as a whole upwardly away from the package support whilst holding the wrapper sheet firmly against the package between the fingers and thumb of the right hand. The left hand is then moved downwardly so as first to dispose the corner C2 in a downwardly pointing direction and then, by movement rearwardly, disposing the said corner C2 under the bottom of the package into overlapping relation with the corner C1, as indicated in Fig. 15.

It will be understood that the fingers of the hand when gripping the package to be wrapped are accommodated by the space between the confronting portions of the bracket portions 231-1, and also between the extension plates 26 in any of their placed positions.

As the package is lifted from its support the wrapper sheet forward corner is pulled from beneath the pressure bar 78 so that the needle or knife member, which penetrates the top wrapper sheet, will cut a slit in the wrapper sheet which is being withdrawn. The knife-cutting edge, however, is sharp and is always located at the same distance from the forward corner, which is relatively close thereto. This is not only so for wrapper sheets of different size, since each stack is provided with its own tray, but is also the case when the carriage is moved forwardly or rearwardly in order to position the wrapper sheet properly with respect to the package being wrapped, as before explained.

In completing the partial wrap, the overlapped corners of the wrap, as shown in Fig. 15, are pressed against a hot plate sealingly to unite them. Since such a practice is well known, it has'not been thought necessary to illustrate the hot plate which, however, is preferably located adjacent but in advance of the table for convenience of operation.

The wrapping of the package is completed by the folding of the remaining two corners of the sheet into overlapping relation with the front and rear corners of the partial wrap on the bottom of the package. This may be done by hand or by automatic machines designed for that purpose, but the present invention is not concerned with those operations. Hence, no mechanism is shown for that purpose nor is any detailed explanation given.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 6 In the arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 6, parts are shown as adjusted for use in wrapping a relatively small package. It will be understood that the method of'operation is generally the same as previously described in connection with a relatively large package except that the tray holding the stack of sheets will be smaller in size and, of course, the wrapper sheets thereon will likewise be smaller and of such size as to be properly held on the tray. Since the package is smaller, it does not need so much support. If the package is quite small the plates 26 will be swung so as to disposed them as indicated by full lines in Figs. 4 and 6; also, the member 35 can be shifted from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 6. Such disposition places the stop 35 further to the rear of the bracket portion 23H and enables the proper coaction with the stack of wrapper sheets to be obtained quickly and easily.

It will, of course, be understood that if desired, and for certain sized packages, or packages which are relatively thick or relatively thin, the member 35 can be placed in either position, which is best adapted to the wrapping of the particular package and in conjunction with the plates 26 in either of the two positions which they are designed to occupy.

Whilst the method of operation has been described as proceeding with the left hand removing the remote corner of the sheet and serving to wrap the same around the package, this is to be considered as by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

It will be understood that the gauge 40 member will be positioned in the stop member 35 so that the finger 42 thereof will serve as a stop serving to assure that the article or package will be centrally located on the support with respect to a front to rear center line.

If desired, the operator can operate on either side of the table.

From the foregoing it is clear the method and apparatus provide for great flexibility in the wrapping of packages of widely different sizes and thicknesses. The desired tray with the stack of wrapper sheets thereon can be quickly placed upon and removed from the carriage, which in turn can be quickly and easily slid forwardly or rearwardly properly to orient the particular wrapper sheet to the package to be wrapped and without the necessity of removing the package from the support on which it has been placed for a wrapping operation. Once the proper adjustment has been made, all like packages can be wrapped without the necessity of further adjustment. Should it be desired to wrap packages of a different size it is only necessary to remove the tray and substitute a tray having the proper sized sheet. The other adjustments, if necessary, i.e., the placement of the'plates 26, the location of stop member 35, and the positioning of locating finger 42 can all be made quickly and easily and without the use of any tools. Also, since the carriage comprises the pressure bar and sheet-piercing means but one such means is required, and it is always properly located in the same position relative to the forward corner of the stack, whether the sheets be large or small.

An additional feature which should be mentioned in connection with the needle member is that the front corner of plate 72 is provided with an opening 80 in registry with and underlying the needle 80. This opening serves the following purposes; that is to say, when substantially all of the sheets of the stack have been used the needle projects entirely through the remaining sheets. If the plate 72 did not have an opening at that place the point of the needle would engage the top surface of the metal plate 72 and be dulled or damaged thereby. The opening 80 permits the needle point to project below the top surface of plate 72 without damage thereto.

The above-mentioned advantages, as well as others, will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, without further comment.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for wrapping an article in a rectangular wrapping sheet, said apparatus comprising in combination carriage-supporting structure, means for supporting an article to be wrapped in a generally horizontal plane spaced above said carriage-supporting structure, carriage means mounted on said supporting structure in a plane below and for guided rectilinear movement toward and away from said article-supporting means, tray means for holding a stack of rectangular wrapper sheets, coacting means on said tray and carriage for detachably mounting said tray in a predetermined position on said carriage in a plane below the article-supporting means and with the forward corner of the stack of sheets pointing toward a location over which said article-supporting means is positioned, and means on said carriage for engagement with at least the forward corner of the uppermost sheet of the stack for resisting movement of such sheet rearwardly of the stack.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the means on the carriage for engagement with at least the forward corner of the stack includes a pointed member which pierces at least the forward corner of the uppermost sheet of the stack.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the means on the carriage for engagement with at least the forward corner of the stack includes a bar member which exerts a downward pressure on the stack.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the bar member carries a pointed member which pierces at least the forward corner of the uppermost sheet of the stack.

5. Apparatus for partially wrapping an article in a rectangular Wrapper sheet, said apparatus comprising support structure, means for supporting an article to be wrapped in a position in spaced relation above a portion of said support structure, a tray and a stack of wrapper sheets in the tray on said support, means for locating said tray and stack of wrapper sheets in a plane below the article-supporting means and with the forward corner of the stack underneath said article-supporting means and for guiding the tray forwardly and rearwardly relative to the location below said article-supporting means, said article-supporting means comprising shelf structure disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, shelf extension means on the underside of the shelf structure and means supporting said extension means from said shelf whereby the same is movable froma position extending rearwardly of the shelf structure to a retracted position in which substantially none thereof extends rearwardly of the shelf structure.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the shelf extension means comprises a pair of plates swingbale upon a vertical pivot.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 in which means are provided for locking the plates in extended position, said means including structure for urging the plates in an upward direction.

8. Apparatus for partially wrapping an article in a rectangular wrapper sheet, said apparatus comprising support structure,-means for supporting an article to be wrapped in a position in spaced relation above said support structure, a tray and a stack of wrapper sheets in the tray on said support, means for locating said tray and stack of wrapper sheets in a plane below the article-supporting means and with the forward corner of the stack underneath the article-supporting means and for guiding the tray forwardly and rearwardly relative to the location below said article-supporting means, said article-supporting means comprising shelf structure disposed substantially in a horizontal plane, and article stop means detachably afiixed to said supporting means said article stop means and supporting means being formed to permit the stop means to be located in a position to extend upwardly from said article supporting means at least in part and comprising a channel member having spaced flanges, either of the flanges of which is adapted to enter into supporting relation with the article-supporting means whereby the stop can be located in a plurality of positions spaced different distances from the rear margin of the article-supporting means.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 in which the article stop means is provided with a gauge member slidable longitudinally of the stop means.

10. The combination set forth in claim 9 in which means are provided for automatically holding the gauge -member in any placed position.

11. The combination set forth in claim 9 in which the gauge member is provided with a finger member extending in a direction at substantially right angles to the body of the gauge member.

12. The combination set forth in claim 11 in which the finger member is afiixed to the body of the gauge member by means permitting guide relocation of the same to extend in opposite directions.

References .Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,840,962 Stremke July 1, 1958

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