Package treating apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS SHRINKING A PACKAGE WRAPPER INTO CONFORMITY WITH THE EXTERIOR CONFIGURATION OF AN OBJECT THEREIN, COMPRISING A FRAME, ELONGATE MEANS ON THE FRAME SUPPORTING AND CONVEYING SUCH A WRAPPED PACKAGE IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION AND INCLUDING A PACKAGE CONVEYING SURFACE UPON WHICH SUCH A PACKAGE IS SUPPORTED, A HOOD ON THE FRAME AND DEFINING A HEATED AIR CIRCULATING CHAMBER AND SAID HOOD HAVING FRONT, REAR, SIDE AND TOP WALLS, SAID HOOD BEING DISPOSED IN SUPERPOSED RELATION WITH A PORTION OF SAID SURFACE, AND SAID SIDEWALLS EXTENDING ALONG SAID ELONGATE MEANS AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY TO SAID SURFACE, SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID ELONGATE MEANS AND HAVING LOWER EDGES SPACED ABOVE SAID SURFACE AND COOPERATING WITH SAID SURFACE IN DEFINING CONTINUOUSLY OPEN AND UNOBSTRUCTED ENTRANCE AND EXIT PORTS TO PERMIT UNOBSTRUCTED MOVEMENT OF THE PACKAGE ON THE SURFACE AND THROUGH THE CHAMBER, AND AIR HEATING, CIRCULATING AND DIRECTING MEANS IN THE CHAMBER AND PRODUCING UPWARD SWEEPING OF AIR ACROSS SAID OPEN AND UNOBSTRUCTED PORTS AND WITHIN SAID CHAMBER TO MINIMIZE LOSS OF HEAT AND HEATED AIR AT THE PORTS, AND ALSO PRODUCING HEATING AND SHRINKING OF THE PACKAGE WRAPPER INTO CONFORMITY WITH THE EXTERIOR CONFIGURATION OF THE OBJECT THEREIN.