US3164937A - Wrapping machine - Google Patents

Description

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4, 1962 NT 1 1 I ATTORNEY Jan. 12, 1965 M. INGRAM 3,164,937

WRAPPINGMACHINE Filed June 4, 1962 v 4 sheeis-sheet 2 INVEN TOR. MARVIN LESTER INGRAM ATTORNEY Jan. 12, 1965 M. L. INGRAM 3,164,937

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 4, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 4 FIG. 6

IN VEN TOR. MARVIN LESTER INGRAM ATTORNEY Jan. 12, 1965 M. INGRAM WRAPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 4, 1962 INVENTOR. MARVIN LESTER INGRAM ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,164,937 Patented Jan. 12, 1965 3,164,937 WRAPPKNG MACHENE Marvin Lester lngram, Portland, Greg, assignor of seventeen percent to Maurice Ingram, ten percent to L. R. Geisler, and seventy-three percent to McDannell Brown Filed June 4, 1962, Ser. No. 199,776 8 Claims. (Cl. 53-229) This invention relates in general to Wrapping machines, and, more specifically, to such machines wherein the wrapping material used is heat sealable.

One of the problems heretofore encountered with wrapping machines which heat seal the wrapping material is the difficulty in preventing undesirable transfer of heat from the heat sealing elements to the article or articles being wrapped. This problem has been met to a certain extent by having the article or articles to be wrapped first placed in a container or tray and having the main or longitudinal heat seam of the wrapper'performed beneath the bottom of such container.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved wrapping machine, employing heat sealable wrapping material, in which the main or longitudinal heat seam of the wrapper will be performed along the side edge of the package, sufliciently spaced from the package contents to prevent any appreciable transfer of heat from the heat sealing elements to the package contents during the brief instant required for such heat sealing, but also without resulting in any excessive slack in the wrapping of the package or waste of the wrapping material.

A related object of this invention is to provide an improved wnapping machine in which the inclusion in the package of a tray or other container for the article or articles being wrapped will be unnecessary for certain types of articles and entirely optional for others.

Another reason why it has often been necessary, with certain wrapping machines, to have the article or articles to be wrapped first placed in a tray or other container, is the fact that the contents of the package must first be pushed along a stationary surface against the wrapper into poistion for enclosure by the wrapper at the start of the wrapping operation. Thus loose or stacked articles, required to be placed in a package, cannot feasibly be pushed into place against a wrapper in such machines unless these articles arekept together in a holder or container of some sort.

Accordingly a further object of this invention is to provide an improved Wrapping machine in which the article or group of articles to be wrapped will be initially placed on a portion of the wrapper, which wrapper portion then serves as the bottom enclosure for thepackage, and with the machine so arranged that no movement of the article or group of articles then takes place until the wrapper has not only been extended around over the package contents but has also been sealed along the longitudinal or main seam, at which time the enclosed or sleeved package will be moved along in the machine and which movement will then take place without any relative displacement of the contents of the package and also without any slipping of the wrapper with respect to the package contents.

Another and specific object of the invention is to 'provide an improved wrapping machine in which the wrapping material will be continuously and automatically supplied from a suitable source or roll and in which the leading end of the wrapping material will automatically be placed in position for receiving thereon the article or articles for each package, so that a series of packages can be wrapped in rapid succession without any intervening or separate step being'required for setting the end of the wrapper in place for each successive package.

A further related object is to provide a wrapping machine in which the automatic placing of the wrapping material in position to serve as a covering for the entire bottom of the package prior to the delivery of the contents for such package to the machine will enable the contents for each successive package to be delivered to the wrapping machine in various ways, as for example, by an endless conveyor, or stack feeder when containers for the contents of the packages are used, as well as being delivered manually, without any further adjusting of the wrapper with respect to the delivered package contents and without any further manipulating of the contents prior to the complete enclosure of such contents by the wrapper and the sealing of the wrapper along a longitudinal or main seam for the package.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel, eflicient and simple wrapping machine, intended primarily for use with the modern heat sealable plastic film wrapper materials, in which the severing of the piece of wrapper from the wrapper supply roll, as required for each package, and the completion or fusing of the main seam on the wrapper for each package will be performed simultaneously and by the same means, and with the wrapper material being supplied from a single supply source or roll.

An additional object is to provide an improved automatic wrapping machine for food articles in which such articles will at no time duringthe wrapping be brought into direct contact with any part of the machine, but will have contact only with the wrapper sheet, thus simplifying the problem of maintaining the highest sanitary conditions in the packaging of food articles.

The manner in which these objects, as well-as other advantages subsequently mentioned, are attained with the machine of the present invention, andthe construction of the machine and themanner in which the machine functions, will now be briefiyexplained and described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1, 1A, 1B and 1C are more or less schematic views illustrating in general the manner in which socalled sleeve wrapping of a package is performed by the machine and showing successive stages in the wrap- V ping of the package in the operation cycle of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the machine with the near side .outer wall of the housing removed and with a portion of the in-side'wall broken away forclarity;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal or plan section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, but drawn to a larger scale, also with portions shown broken away for clarity;

FIG. 4 similarly is a front elevation of the machine, as taken on the line indicated at 4-4 of FIG. 2, drawn to the same scale as FIG. 3, with parts shown in section;

FIGS. 5 and 5A are fragmentary sections taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3 but drawn to a still larger scale, FIG. 5 illustrating in full lines the position of the overwrap -bar assembly during thesecond stage of the wrapping operation (in contrast to the first stage shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), and illustrating in broken lines the position a of this assembly in the third stage of the operation, while FIG. 5A shows the position of this assembly in the next stage of operation;

FIGS. 6, 7 and Sam-fragmentary sections taken on the lines 6-6, 77-and .3-8 respectively of FIG. 4, drawn to a larger scale, to show details of certain portions of the mechanism employed in the machine; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are fragmentary sections taken on the lines 9-9 and 10-10 respectively of FIG. 2 and drawn to a larger scale. 7 For simplicity of illustration each of the articles or packages shown being wrapped by the machine in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5A is assumed to be in the form of a rectangular box and is indicated by the reference character P. However it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration only, since the machine, as will be presently apparent, will Wrap a variation of sizes and shapes of articles, groups of articles, or packages, Within a reasonable range, and will make such accommodations, as required for packages of different sizes and shapes, automatically.

In the drawings, the reference character W indicates the wrapper material, which consists of a heat sealable, preferably transparent, plastic film of the type currently used extensively, particularly in the wrapping of food products.

The machine of the invention performs so-called sleeve wrapping, that is to say, the package is enclosed in the wrapper which is sealed along the longitudinal seam, but the two ends of the package wrapper are left unsealed or unfolded, or else the folding and/or sealing of the ends of the package wrapper may take place as a separate subsequent operation. There are several wellknown devices for folding and/0r sealing the ends of a package Wrapper after the main or longitudinal seam has been completed, and since means for folding and/ or sealing such ends of the wrapper do not constitute a part of the present invention, the folding and/or sealing of the ends of the wrapper on the package is not indicated in the drawings and need not be described.

For a preliminary brief outline of the manner in which the machine functions reference is first made to FIGS. 1, 1A, 1B and 1C. At the start of the wrapping operation the leading end of the wrapping material W is held on the front portion of the table or deck of the machine. The means by which this end of the wrapper material is held in this position will be explained later on. The wrapper material is carried on a roll 11 (FIG. 2) removably mounted at the upper rear portion of the machine and the wrapper material passes over feeding means and through a guideway on an overwrap bar assembly, designated in general by the reference 12. This overwrap bar assembly comprises a frame of general U-shaped formation and is mounted in the machine so as to be swung u and down and also to be moved forwardly towards the front of the machine and then returned to the rear starting position.

The package P to be wrapped is placed on the leading end portion of the wrapper on the table 10 of the machine, the overwrap bar assembly 12 being in the lowered rear portion (this starting position of the assembly 12 being shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). As the machine starts to operate the assembly 12 is raised (FIG. 1), then moved forwardly, carrying the wrapper over the top of the package, then lowered a short distance in front of the package (FIG. 1A), and then moved backwardly into close proximity to the front edge of the package (FIG. 1B). At this point in the operation a heated element is automatically raised which simultaneously seals the top portion of the wrappe for the package to the bottom wrapping portion at the edge of the table, severs this bottom portion of the Wrapper from the additional forward extending end, severs the top portion of the wrapper from the supply line of wrapper material, and welds the freed end of the wrapper supply line to the severed forward extending end of the bottom wrapper portion. The overwrap bar assembly 12 then moves rearwardly along the table of the device (FIG, 1C) pushing the package with its sealed sleeve wrapping rearwardly and at the same'time leaves a new forward portion of the wrapper supply line deposited on the table to receive the contents for the next package. The same steps are then repeated in the same sequence for the wrapping of the next package.

The means by which the wrapper material is delivered from the supply roll for the wrapping of packages will be described first with reference to FIG. 2. From the supply roll 11, removably supported at the upper rear end of the machine, the supply line of the wrapper material W passes over a freely rotatable upper guide roll 13. One end of the shaft 13' for this guide roll 13 is supported on a rocker arm 14 which is secured on the end of a rock shaft 14 extending transversely across and rockably supported in the upper frame of the machine. The opposite end of the shaft 13' for the guide roll 13 (shown in FIG. 4) is supported on a rocker arm 15 secured to and extending upwardly from the opposite end of the rock shaft 14 and is parallel to the rocker arm 14. A slot is provided in each of the sides of the machine frame to permit limited travel of the guide roll shaft 13' and therewith of the guide roll 13, one of these slots being shown at 16 in FIG. 2.

The bottom end of the rocker arm 14 is connected Wi h a solenoid S and the passage of electric current to this solenoid causes the rocker arm 14 to move counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 2) from the position shown and thereby to move the guide roll 13 into contact with a feed roller 17 which is continuously rotated (in clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2) by belt and pulley connection with the main drive of the machine, mentioned later.

From the guide roll 13 the supply line of material W passes down under a floating tensioning rod 18 which is freely movable up and down in a pair of vertical slots provided in the opposite side Walls of the machine frame, one of these slots being shown at 19 in FIG. 2. The weight of this floating rod on the supply line of wrapper material keeps the wrapper material under sutficient tension to prevent any excess slack developing in the line of material as it is pulled into place over the top of the package. From the floating rod 18 the supply line of wrapper material passes over the stationary upper guide rod 20 and thence down through a feed slot 21 (see FIGS. 5 and 5A) provided at the front end of the overwrap bar assembly 12.

A mercury switch 22 (FIG. 2) is mounted near the lower end of one of the slots 19 in the path of the floating rod 18 as the rod drops downwardly. Engagement of this mercury switch by the rod 18 interrupts the circuit to the solenoid S, and this resulting deactivation of the solenoid causes the guide roll 13 for the wrapper material to be moved back to the right (as viewed in FIG. 2) and out of contact with the driven feed roller 17. This momentarily stops the feeding of the wrapper material from the supply roll 11.

Thus during the operation of the machine, as the use of the wrapper material causes the floating rod 18 to be lifted out of contact with the mercury switch 22, the resulting activation of the solenoid S causes the wrapper guide roll 13 to be moved into contact with the driven feed roller 17, which causes more wrapper material to be drawn from the supply roll 11 until the floating rod 18 again drops down far enough to contact the mercury switch 22. In this way the delivery of wrapper material is provided automatically with the operation of the machine, but no excessive delivery of wrapper material and no accumulation of slack in the wrapper material, will occur.

The U-shaped frame comprising the overwrap bar assembly 12 has a pair of parallel side arms 23, 23 (FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 5A) connected at their forward ends by the double cross bar 24. This double cross bar 24 has an open ventilating air slot 24' (FIGS. 5 and 5A) extending upwardly through the entire bar, for a reason later explained, and the cross bar 24 preferably extends in an oblique upwardly forwardly sloping plane, instead of extending in a vertical plane. The reason for this is to enable the cross bar 24 to be more nearly parallel to the side wall of a cardboard tray having upwardly outwardly sloping side walls during the sealing of the wrapper and during the pushing of the package rearwardly, such trays being commonly used at presentinthe handling and packaging of food products. However the overwr'ap bar assembly 12 is also 'provided with an adjustable pusher plate (FIGS. 5 and 5A) adapted to press against the front wall of the package P when the package is pushed rearwardly after the heat sealing of the longitudinal seam on the package wrapping, and this pusherplate 25, as illustratedin FIG. 5A, can be "adjusted so asto extend in a vertical plane when the contents of the package are not carried in'a tray or container with outwardly flaring side walls. Obviously'this pusher plate 25 can also be adjusted to suit the front side wall of differently shaped packages.

The fact that thecross bar 24 and pusher plate are lowered to the plane of the deck or table 10 a distance ahead of the front side of the package contents and then moved rearwardly to bring the wrapper down over the front side of the package contents prevents any of the contents from not being enclosed in the wrapper when the wrapper is sealed, even if the contents have been placed in a tray with some of the contents spilling over the front edge of the tray.

,The side arms 23, 23 for the overw rap bar assembly 12 are secured to a pair of stub shafts 26 respectively (FIGS. 9 and 3) which are rotatably supported in a pair of carriages 27 respectively slidable on a pair of horizontal rails 28 mounted outside the inner side walls of the housing for the machine, horizontal slots 'for these stub shafts 26 being provided in the respective inner side walls of the housing. A link 29 connects each carriage 27 to an endless sprocket chain 36 (see FIG. 2), Whichis supported on a forward driven sprocket and on a rear idler sprocket and which chain moves along on an upper guide bar 31. The forward driven sprocket for each of these chains is secured to a shaft driven by sprocket and chain connection with the main driving mechanism'explained" later. The chain 30 for "each carriage'27 is, driven in counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG; 2, and thus the overwrap bar assembly'1 2 islcaused to move forwardly from the rear or starting position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to the extreme forward position shown in broken lines infFlG. 5, and then moved rearwardly.

A lifting arm 32, (FIG. 2 issecured on the o'uterend of each stub shaft 26 to which each side arm 23 for the overwrap bar assembly 12 is secured. The'bottom end of each lifting arm'32 rests on the corresponding link 2% by which the corresponding carriage 27 is connected With its sprocket chain '30. Thus, as the counter-clockwise travel of the chain 36) produces the forward and rear travel of the overwrap barassembly 12, the lifting arms 32, resting on the links 29, as apparent from FIG. 2, will cause the overwrap bar assemblyflZ to be raised preparatory' to and during its forward travel, and then lowered for its returntravel p v The machine is operatedby an electric motor M (FIGS.

4 and 6), thecircuit tothis motor being controlled bya master switch indicated at 33 in FIGKZ, The motor M, through suitable gear reduction and sprocket and chain connection 34 (FIGS. 4 and 6) drives a sprocket 35 which is rotatably carried on a shaft 36. A toothed pinion 37 is secured to the sprocket 35 and thus is also rota ably'mounted on the shaft an, .A disc 38, which is se-' cured on the shaft 36 andIpositioned adjacent the pinion 37, carries a pivotally mounted, spring actuated clutch element 359 (FIG. 6) "on its inside face adapted normally to engagethe'pinion 37 and thus to cause the disc 38, and with it the shaftfljti-to which the disc 38 is secured, to

be rotated with the'sp'rocket 35f A clutch control arm 49 is pivotally mounted as indicated in FIG. 6 and is nor- When this occurs the rotation of the disc 38 (and therewith rotation of the shaft 36) is'stopped until the control to a shaft 43. An actuating lever 44 (FIGS. 3 and 5) is secured to the shaft 43 and normally extends up part way through a slot 45 which is centrally located in the forward portion of the deck 10 of the machine. The arrangement is such that the placing of an article or package 7 to be wrapped on the wrapper strip above the lever 44 will cause the control arm 40 (FIG; 6) to be moved into releasing position with respect to clutch element 39 and result in the operation of the machine'through a cycle which takes place during a rotation of disc 38 and shaft 36. A manual control lever 46 (FIG. 2) is also connected to an extension 41' of the cord 41 to enable the control arm 46 to be manually moved to releasing position should this be desired for any reason.- V

A pulley 571, secured on the end of the shaft 2, 3, and 4), is connected by a belt 58 with a pulley secured on'the shaft of the driven feed roller 17 for the wrapper material. A gear 47 (FIGS. 4 and 7), also secured on the shaft3'5, meshes with'a pinion gear 48 secured on a shaft 49. A sprocket wheel 50 (see also FIG.

A 30 for the overwrap bar assembly 12 are driven in unison through the intermediary of the gears 47 and 48 (FIG. 7). It will be noted from 'FIG. 7 however that gear teeth are omitted on a portion of the periphery'47 of the gear 47 and that the companion pinion gear 48 has a peripheral portion 43' which is adapted to slide on the peripheral portion47 of the gear from which the gear teeth are omitted. Consequently the pinion gear 48 will cease rotating for a brief period during the rotation of gear 47. During this period, when the pinion gear 48 and shaft I 49 are not rotating, this sprocket 50, sprocket 52 (FIG. 2

and'the drive sprocketsfor the chains 30 will also not be rotating, with the result-that the travel of the overwrap bar assembly '12 willmomentarily be halted during the operation of the machine. The mechanism is so arranged that this temporary halting of the travel of the overwrap bar assembly 12 occurs when the overwrap bar assembly is inthe position shown in FIG. 5A and the reason for this Willnowbe explained.

A U-shaped member 54 (FIGS. 5 and 5A) spaced around a heat sealingelement 66is resiliently supported in a pair of brackets 55 which are mounted for verticak up and down travel in suitable guide rollers 56. One of these brackets 'is'supported on a rocker arm 59 (FIGSE'2,

' S'and 5A) secured ona rocker shaft 60. The other of these brackets 55 is,supported on an arm (not shown) se; cured to therocker shaft 60 'in parallelism with the arm "59. The opposie end of the armr 52 is connected by a link 61 (FIG. 2) with a crank .pin on a disc62 secured on ashaft 63. i e A'gearo l (FIGS. 4' and 8), secured on the shaft 36,

meshes with a pinionufi5 secured onthe shaft63. It will a be noted from FIGQS that the gear teeth are omitted from a considerable portion ofthe periphery of this gear 64' andthat the periphery of the pinion gear 65 has a portion 65 adapted to enable the toothless portion of the periph{ 1 cry of the rotating gear 64 to maintain peripheral contact with the pinion gear 65 without causing rotation of pinion gear 65 and shaft-63. This arrangement is such that, with the rotation of shaft 36 and gear 64, the member 54,

through the interinediaryof the brackets 55, rocker arm' 59, link 61, and disc crank 6 2'on shaft 63, will be raised and lowered and then remain'in-lowered inoperative posi- 36 (Pros;

heated sealing rod or wire (FIGS. 3, and 10) positioned within the topof the U-shaped member 54 and secured at this ends to the brackets 55 respectively, with one end provided with suitable tensioning means. This heat sealing element 66 is connected to a source of electrical current (not shown) so that it is maintained at all times at desired predetermined heat sealing temperature. I

When the overwrap bar assembly 12, after drawing the wrapper over the top of a package, has reached its extreme forward position (indicated in broken lines in FIG. 5), the overwrap bar assembly starts its return rearward travel. However whenit reaches a position above the spring mounted member 54, and thus is adjacent the front edge of the package being wrapped, the travel of the overwrap bar assembly rearwardly is momentarily halted, due to the arrangement of the gear 47 and pinion 48 (FIG. 7) previously described which control the operation of the chains which govern the movement of the overwrap bar assembly. As the forward cross bar 24 of the overwrap bar assembly reaches the position shown in FIG. 5A and the travel of the overwrap bar assembly is momentarily halted, the brackets 55, U-shaped member 54 and sealing element 66 are moved up into extreme raised position and then returned to lower inactive normal position. During the moment that the member 54 is in this raised position, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, with the two portions of the wrapper material clamped between the forward cross bar on the overwrap bar assembly 12 and the member 54, the contact of the hot sealing element 66 with the wrapper material results in the element 66 cutting through the two thicknesses of wrapper material and welding or heat sealing the edges of the material in each of the two pairs of edges on the opposite sides of the element 66. As a consequence the front edge of the wrapper, extending beneath the package P is sealed to the front edge of the portion of the wrapper which has been pulled over the top of the package, thus forming the longitudinal seam along the side of the package; and at the same time the severed edge of the supply line of wrapper material is welded to the severed forward piece of the bottom wrapper portion (indicated at W in FIG. 5A). Consequently now as the brackets 55, member 54 and sealing element 66 are lowered, and the overwrap bar assembly 12. starts its rearward movement along the deck 10, pushing the wrapped package along to the rear of the machine, a new strip of wrapper material will again be laid on the deck 10 in preparation for receivingthe contents of the next package to be wrapped.

When the machine is first placedin operation, the end of the supply line of wrapping material, after being passed over the upper guide roll 13, and under the floating ten sioning rod 18, and over the stationary guide rod 20, and down throughthe guide slot 21 on the forward cross bar 24 of the overwrap bar assembly 12, is pulled forwardly over the deck 10 of the machine and brought down and caught between a pair of pinch rolls 67 and 68 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5A). The roll 67 is not driven but i rotatably mounted. of a rotation intermittently in clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 5A). A surfacing of resilient material is provided on one or both of these rolls 67 and 68 so as to provide a grip on the interposed end of the wrapper material. The shaft for the roll 67 is mounted for slight horizontal adjustment by suitable means (not shown) to enable the. gripping tension between the rolls 67 and 68 to be adjusted if necessary.

The roll 6S'is secured on a shaft 68', the ends of which are-mounted in the frame sides. A ratchet wheel 69 (FIG. 2) is secured to the shaft. An arm 70 has one-end rotatably supported on the shaft 68 and the other end The roll 68 is automatically given a fractionv sealing element. A pawl 71, carried on the arm 70, engages the ratchet wheel 69. Consequently with each return downward movement of the member 54 and the heat sealing element, after the sealing of the Wrapper, the roll 68 is driven in partial rotation (clockwise as viewed in the figures). In this way, after the longitudinal main seam on the wrapper of each package ha been heat sealed, the severed forward end W of the wrapper (FIG. 5A), to which the new end of the wrapper supply line has been welded, will be pulled forwardly and downwardly a short distance so as not to interfere with the performance of the same combined sealing, severing and welding of the wrapper in the wrapping of the next package. In FIG. 5A these welds of each subsequent new end of the wrapper supply line to the severed forward end of the previous wrapper are indicated at 72.

It will be noted from FIG. 5A that the bottom edges of the forward cross bar 24 of the overwrap bar assembly 12 are spaced apart approximately the same distance as the top edges of the Ushaped spring mounted member 54 and that these pairs of edges are arranged so as to bear against each other and the interposed two thicknesses of wrapper material during the moment the member 54 and the heat sealing element are raised to scaling position. This arrangement enables the portions of the wrapper material to be held firmly during the severing of the two thicknesses and the welding of the two pairs of severed edges. The spacing between the corresponding portions of the cross bar 24 and member 54 allows ample space for the severing and welding of the wrapper material to take place without undesirable heating of the cross bar 24 or member 54, and the open slot 24' in the cross bar 24 enables cooling air to pass through the cross bar 24 following the welding or sealing of the wrapper. Furthermore the inner bottom edge portion of the cross bar 24 prevents any appreciable transfer of heat from the heating element 66'tothe package P, while at the same time permitting the longitudinal edge seam on the wrapper of the package to be formed so close to the edge of the package that the sealed wrapper on the package will not be too loose.

As a guide in the placing of the contents for the package in proper position at the front edge of the deck 10 and for obtaining the most satisfactory wrapping of the pack, an automatic stop fence 73 (FIGS. 5 and 5A) is provided at the front edge of the deck 10 of the machine. This stop fence 73 has a lower under portion 74 secured to a rotatably mounted cross shaft 75. An arm 76, secured to this shaft, is attached to a coil spring 77 which coil spring normaly holds the stop fence in the raised position shown in FIG. 5 for the positioning of the package contents. An operating arm 78 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is secured to one endof the shaft 75. A link bar 79 (FIG. 2) connects this arm 78 with a lever arm 80. .The sprocket 50, secured on the intermittently rotated shaft 4-9, has an extending lug 82 secured to one face which is so arranged as to engage the lever arm 80 during rotation of the shaft 49 and sprocket 50, thereby thrusting the arm 80, link bar the wrapper sheet on the table 10 the raised stop fence 73 of this arm carries a pin which loosely engages a slot in j at the front edge guides the positioning of the package contents into the best location for wrapping. Then, when the wrapper has been brought forward over the top of the package contents and the wrapper is ready for the sealing of the longitudinal scam, the stop fence is automatically lowered to the position shown in FIG. 5A so as to be entirely out of the Way for the heat sealing of the wrapper to take place. i

Thus, with the proper deposit of the contents for a package upon the extending strip of wrapper material, which has been secured in place on the forward portion of the machine table, the enclosing of such contents in a sleeve-type wrapping, regardless of the shape or size of such contents within certain limits, without any excessive slack in the. package wrapping, the heat sealing: of the longitudinal or main seam for the package along the, side edge of the package, without any transfer-ofthesealing heat to the package contents, the severance of the package wrapping from the wrapper material supply line, the'moving of the sleeve wrapped package to the rear of the machine to be given whatever further treatment or handling is arranged for, and the holding of the new end portion of the supply line of wrapper material in place to receive the contents for the next packageall this takes place automatically. The wrapping of packages can take place in quick succession, depending upon the rapidity with which the contents for successive packages are deposited in place on each neWforward end portion of the wrapper material. The wrapper material is automatically fed' as required from a singlesupply roll, and only a minimum amount of supervision or care is required on the part of the operator.

Minor modifications could of course be made in the machine without departing from the principle of the invention or from the scope of the claims, but the machine, constructed and arranged as hereinbriefly described, is regarded as the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Iclaim: 1. In a wrapping machine of the character described,

a table, a traveling overwrap bar assembly including a forward cross bar extending transversely over said table and positioned rearwardlyon said table at the start of each cycle of operation of the machine, a guideway on said cross bar for the wrapper material, wrapper material supply means located upwardly and rearwardly from said cross bar of said overwrap assembly, a floating tensioning rod for the wrapper material in said supply means, driven feeding means in said supply means controlled by said floating tensioning rod, wrapper end holding elements positioned beyond the forward end of said table for holding said wrapper material on said table between said end holding elements and said cross bar of said overwrap bar assembly, whereby to enable the contents for a package to be wrapped to be deposited on the Wrapper material at the forward end of said table, overwrap operating means for bringing the wrapper material over the top of the deposited contents for a package without moving said contents, said overwrap operating means moving said overwrap bar assembly so as to cause said cross bar of said assembly to move upwardly and forwardly from starting position to a position beyond said-forward end of said table and then downwardly and rearwardly and along said table to said starting position during'feach complete cycle of operation of said machine, an automatic delay in said overwrap operating means causin'gfsaid overwrap bar assembly to pause momentarily when "said.

including a table, a traveling overwrap bar erttending V transversely over said table and positioned rearwardly on cross bar is at the forward end of said table near the forward side edge ofsaid package contents during the" rearward return movement of said overwrap bar assembly 7 and cross bar, a wrapper severing and heat sealing element located below the forward end portion of said wrapper material near the forward end of said table, supporting means for said element mounted for up and down movement, and means automatically raising said element supporting means and therewith said'element into wrapper contacting position beneath said crossbar of said overwrap bar assembly, upon arrival of said cross bar near the forward side edge of said package contents.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the cross bar of said overwrap bar assemblyis provided with a ventilating air slot extending upwardly through said cross bar. J I

3..The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the cross bar of said overwrap bar assembly is so arranged as to slope upwardly and forwardly with respect to said table and with said overwrap bar assembly provided also with a pusher plate ,adjustabl-y mounted adjacentthe rear said table at the start of each cycle of operation of the machine, a guideway on said bar for-the wrapper material, wrapper material supply means located upwardly from said overwrap bar, a floating tensioning rod for the wrapper material in said supply means, driven feeding means in said supply means controlled by said floating tensioning rod, wrapper end'holding elements positioned beyond the forward end of said table for holding said wrapper material on said table between said holding elements and said overwrap bar, whereby to enable the contents for a package to be wrapped to be deposited on the wrapper material at the forward end of said table,

overwrap operating means for bringing the wrapper material over the top of the deposited contents for a package withoutmoving said contcnts,'said overwrap operating means causing said overwrap bar to move upwardly and forwardly from -a starting position to a position beyond said forward end of'said table and then downwardly and rearwardly and along said table to said starting'position during each complete cycle of operation of said machine, an automatic delay' in said overwrap operating means causing said overwrap bar topause momentrilyat the forward end of said table near the forward side edge of said package contents during the rearward return move ment of said overwrap bar,a wrapper severing and heat healing element located below the forward end portion of said'wrapper material near the forward end of said table, movable supporting means for said element, means automatically moving said element supporting means and therewith said element into Wrapper contacting position beneath said overwrap bar upon arrival-of said overwrap bar near the forward side edge of said-package contents.

a clutch controlling the operation of said'machine, an

automatic stop disengaging said clutch at the end of each complete operating cycle, and means for bringing said clutch into engaging position to cause the operation of said machine through a cycle.

5. The device as set forth in claim 4 withthe addition of a movable stop fence located at said forward end of said table to serve as a guide for the placing of the contents for a package in proper position for wrapping, and automatic means for momentarily moving said stop fence out of the path of said overwrap bar prior to the arrival of said overwrap bar near to the forward side edge of the package contents to be wrapped.

6. A wrapping machine for sleeve wrapping packages comprising a table, a traveling overwrap bar extending transversely over said table and positioned rearwardly on said table at the start of each cycle of operation of the machine, a guideway on said bar for the-wrapper material, wrapper material supply means located upwardly from said overwrap bar, a floating tensioning rod for the wrapper material in said supply means, driven feeding means in said supply means controlled by said floating tensioning rod, wrapper end holding elements positioned beyond the forward end of said table for holding said wrapper material on said table between said end holding elements and said overwrap bar, whereby to enable the contents for a package to be wrapped to be deposited on the wrapper material at the forward end of said table, an intermittently driven pinch roll in said end holding elements, overwrap operating means for bringing the wrapper material over the top of the deposited contents for a package without moving said contents, said overwrap operating means causing said overwrap bar to move upwardly and forwardly from starting position :to

a position beyond said forward end of said table and j then downwardly and rearwardly and along said table'to said starting position during each complete cycle of operation of said machine, an automatic delay in said overwrap operating means causing said overwrap bar to pause momentarily at the forward end of said table near the forward side edge of said package contents during the severing and heat sealing means movably positioned'below the forward end portion of said wrapper material near the forward end of said table, means automatically rais ing said Wrapper severing and heating means into wrapper contacting position beneath said overwrap bar upon arrival of said overwrap bar near the forward side edge of said package contents, a clutchcontrolling the operation of said machine, an automatic stop disengaging said clutch at the end of each complete operating cycle, means for bringing said clutch into engaging position to cause operation of said machine through a cycle, and an engaging element in said latter mentioned'me'ans extending up through a slot near the forward end of said table and so arranged that the setting of the contents for a package to be wrapped in place on the portion of wrapper material above said actuating element will cause said clutch to be brought into engagement and result in the operation 01": said machine through a cycle.

7. In a wrapping machine of the character described, a table, a traveling overwrap bar extending transversely over said table and positioned rearwardly on said table at the start of each cycle of operation of the machine, a guideway on said bar for the wrapper material, wrapper material supply means located upwardly from said overwrap bar, holding means at the forward end of said table for holding an end of said wrapper material and causing a lower portion of said wrapper material to be positioned on said table between said holding means and said overwrap bar, thereby enabling the contents for a package to be wrapped to be deposited on said lower portion of said wrapper material in front of said overwrap bar at the start of each cycle of operation, overwrap bar operating means causing said overwrap bar and therewith a second portion of said wrapper material to be brought upwardly and forwardly over the deposited contents for the package and downwardly onto said first portion of said wrapper material in front of said deposited contents without moving saidco ntents, a transversely extending heat severing and sealing element for operating on said lower and said second portions of said wrapper material directly beneath said ovcrwrap bar when said overwrap bar is in position in front of said contents, heat element supporting means normally positioned beneath the level of said table and below said lower portion of saidwrapper material, means connected with said heat element supporting means automatically moving said heat element supporting means and therewith said heat element upwardly beneath said overwrap bar and into contacting position with said wrapper material when said overwrap bar is on said table in front of said contents, whereby the portions of said wrapper material extending under and over said package contents will be sealed together at the front of said package contents and the free end of said wrapper material extending from said overwrap bar will be sealed to the strip of wrap er material extending from said holding means at the front of said table.

8. The combination set forth in claim 7 with said overwrap bar operating means so arranged as to cause a momentary delay in the movement of said overwrap bar to occur when said overwrap bar is at the forward end of said table near the forward side edge of said contents and thence to move rearwardly along on said table to the starting position for the next cycle of operation, said rearward movement of said overwrap bar causing the wrapped package to be moved rearwardly on said table beyond the wrapping zone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,945,337 Waite July 19, 1960 3,014,322 Polster Dec. 26, 1961 3,016,673 Parker Jan. 16, 1962 3,060,658 Horsting Oct. 30, 1962

Claims (1)

1. IN A WRAPPING MACHINE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, A TABLE, A TRAVELING OVERWRAP BAR ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A FORWARD CROSS BAR EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OVER SAID TABLE AND POSITIONED REARWARDLY ON SAID TABLE AT THE START OF EACH CYCLE OF OPERATION OF THE MACHINE, A GUIDEWAY ON SAID CROSS BAR FOR THE WRAPPER MATERIAL, WRAPPER MATERIAL SUPPLY MEANS LOCATED UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY FROM SAID CROSS BAR OF SAID OVERWRAP ASSEMBLY, A FLOATING TENSIONING ROD FOR THE WRAPPER MATERIAL IN SAID SUPPLY MEANS, DRIVEN FEEDING MEANS IN SAID SUPPLY MEANS CONTROLLED BY SAID FLOATING TENSIONING ROD, WRAPPER END HOLDING ELEMENTS POSITIONED BEYOND THE FORWARD END OF SAID TABLE FOR HOLDING SAID WRAPPER MATERIAL ON SAID TABLE BETWEEN SAID END HOLDING ELEMENTS AND SAID CROSS BAR OF SAID OVERWRAP BAR ASSEMBLY, WHEREBY TO ENABLE THE CONTENTS FOR A PACKAGE TO BE WRAPPED TO BE DEPOSITED ON THE WRAPPER MATERIAL AT THE FORWARD END OF SAID TABLE, OVERWRAP OPERATING MEANS FOR BRINGING THE WRAPPER MATERIAL OVER THE TOP OF THE DEPOSITED CONTENTS FOR A PACKAGE WITHOUT MOVING SAID CONTENTS, SAID OVERWRAP MATERIAL OVER THE TOP OF THE OVERWRAP BAR ASSEMBLY SO AS TO CAUSE SAID CROSS BAR OF SAID ASSEMBLY TO MOVE UPWARDLY AND FORWARDLY FROM STARTING POSITION TO A POSITION BEYOND SAID FORWARD END OF SAID TABLE TO SAID STARTING POSITION DURING EACH ALONG SAID TABLE TO SAID STARTING POSITION DURING EACH COMPLETE CYCLE OF OPERATION OF SAID MACHINE, AN AUTOMATIC DELAY IN SAID OVERWRAP OPERATING MEANS CAUSING SAID OVERWRAP BAR ASSEMBLY TO PAUSE MOMENTARILY WHEN SAID CROSS BAR IS AT THE FORWARD END OF SAID TABLE NEAR THE FORWARD SIDE EDGE OF SAID PACKAGE CONTENTS DURING THE REARWARD RETURN MOVEMENT OF SAID OVERWRAP BAR ASSEMBLY AND CROSS BAR, A WRAPPER SEVERING AND HEAT SEALING ELEMENT LOCATED BELOW THE FORWARD END PORTION OF SAID WRAPPER MATERIAL NEAR THE FORWARD END OF SAID TABLE, SUPPORTING MEANS FOR SAID ELEMENT MOUNTED FOR UP AND DOWN MOVEMENT, AND MEANS AUTOMATICALLY RAISING SAID ELEMENT SUPPORTING MEANS AND THEREWITH SAID ELEMENT INTO WRAPPER CONTACTING POSITION BENEATH SAID CROSS BAR OF SAID OVERWRAP BAR ASSEMBLY UPON ARRIVAL OF SAID CROSS BAR NEAR THE FORWARD SIDE EDGE OF SAID PACKAGE CONTENTS.

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