Packaging apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for packaging articles comprising conveying means for advancing said article s continuously along a given path of movement; means for accumulating and grouping a plurality of said articles into spaced groups thereof each consisting of at least two articles adapted to advance continuously along said path; means for supplying a wrapping film of heat-sealable and heatshrinkable organic thermoplastic polymeric material in the form of a single flat sheet adapted for continuous movement along said path; film-advancing means including an endless top belt adapted to advance continuously; means for placing said advancing article grOups onto said wrapping film and forming said wrapping film from a flat sheet thereof into a U-cross section extending across the bottom and up both sides of said article groups; means for engaging and overlapping each edge portion of said wrapping film to provide a region of overlap of said wrapping film consisting of at least two layers thereby enwrapping said advancing article groups with said wrapping film extending across the top, bottom and both sides of said article groups; means for heat sealing said layers of wrapping film in said region of overlap thereby to provide a continuous sleeve of wrapping film about said article groups; means for severing said sleeve of wrapping film intermediate said spaced article groups to provide a package consisting of separate article groups and a sleeve of wrapping film thereabout having open end portions which extend beyond each end of each article group; an endless bottom conveyor for continuously moving said article groups through said apparatus, said endless top belt of said film-advancing means being positioned above said article groups and adapted to be driven in timed relation to said endless bottom conveyor, the film being held in position on one side of said means for severing said sleeve between said endless bottom conveyor, said article groups and said endless top belt to said film-advancing means and being held in position on the other side of said means for severing said sleeve between said endless bottom conveyor, said article groups and another endless top belt spaced from said endless top belt of said film-advancing means whereby said sleeve is maintained taut thereby to better and more easily perform the sleeve-separating operation, said means for severing said sleeve being adapted to pass between the spaced said endless top belts to separate said sleeve; means for directing a heated gaseous medium against only said open end portions of said sleeve of wrapping film for first shrinking each end of said sleeve into engagement with the ends of each of said article groups; and means for directing a heated gaseous medium against each of said packages for shrinking said sleeve of wrapping film into engagement with said article groups thereby to provide a package characterized by a substantially wrinkle-free wrapping film extending over the top, bottom, side and portions of the ends of said article groups.