Packing machine

Claim 2

In a packing machine for packing a product in stretch foil including supporting means for supporting said product during packing operation, product feeding means for transporting said product to said supporting means, foil feeding means for supplying said foil to the vicinity of said product, swivable folding arm means provided with gripping jaws for engaging said foil and folding said foil around said product in a given direction, leaving, in the direction transverse to said given direction, a pair of opposite open ends loosely overlapped by the edges of said foil, folding means for folding said edges of said foil around said opposite ends of said product, and discharged means for discharging said product after packing in said foil from said packing machine, the improvement comprising an elastic diaphragm adapted to clamp the edge of said foil under the influence of a pressure medium provided in each of the gripping jaws of the folding arm means.

Claim 3

A packing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that each gripping jaw comprises a first gripping jaw portion connected to said folding arm means and a second gripping jaw portion hinged thereto, the two gripping jaw portions being lockable with respect to each other in closed position by means of a locking arm.

Claim 4

A packing machine according to claim 2, characterized in that the locking device is spaced from the free end of the gripping jaw.

Claim 5

A packing machine according to claim 1 for packing trays filled with goods in stretch foil, wherein said folding arm means comprise two concentrically movable short folding arms which extend in the folding position beyond the end edges of the tray, and two at least substantially concentrically movable long folding arms which in the folding position around the short folding arms extend to beside the edge of the tray to be packed.

Claim 6

A packing machine according to claim 1 wherein said foil feeding means includes foil pulling means with pulling grippers for holding and pulling said foil movable in the feeding direction above a product to be packed, an elastic pressure diaphragm for releasing the pulling grippers from engagement with said foil which diaphragm is so connected to a pressure medium member that upon engagement of said foil by said folding arm means of the pulling means are released.

Claim 7

A packing maChine according to claim 1 wherein said machine is substantially symmetrically constructed, half of the elements moving during packing being arranged in an auxiliary frame displaceable with respect to the other half, the drives for the two parts being symmetrically movably constructed.

Claim 8

A packing machine for wrapping a product in stretch foil having a width sufficient for enclosing said product in the width wide direction said machine comprising retractable supporting means for supporting said product during the wrapping operation, product feeding means for transporting said product to said supporting means, foil feeding means for advancing a length of said foil sufficient for enclosing said product in the lengthwise direction lengthwise toward and over the position established by said product in said supporting means, swivable folding arm means swivable in planes transverse to the lengthwise direction of said foil and having gripping jaws provided with elastic diaphragms adapted to clamp the lengthwise edges of said foil under the influence of a pressure medium, said swivable folding arm means being adapted to stretch said foil widthwise around said product leaving a pair of open ends with short edges in the lengthwise direction of said foil, folding means for folding the short edges of said foil around said pair of open ends, and discharge means for discharging said product from said packing machine after wrapping in said foil.

Claim 9

A packing machine for wrapping a product in stretch foil having a width sufficient for enclosing said product in the width wide direction said machine comprising retractable supporting means for supporting said product during the wrapping operation, product feeding means for transporting said product to said supporting means, foil feeding means for advancing a length of said foil sufficient for enclosing said product in the lengthwise direction lengthwise toward and over the position established by said product in said supporting means, swivable folding arm means swivable in planes transverse to the lengthwise direction of said foil and having gripping jaws provided with elastic diaphragms adapted to clamp the lengthwise edges of said foil under the influence of a pressure medium, said swivable folding arm means being adapted to stretch said foil widthwise around said product leaving a pair of open ends with short edges in the lengthwise direction of said foil, folding means for folding the short edges of said foil around said pair of open ends, and discharge means for discharging said product from said packing machine after wrapping in said foil.

Claim 10

A packing machine according to claim 7, further comprising support arm means for engaging said product to hold said foil in the position achieved after being wrapped widthwise around said product so as to permit the release of said gripping jaws of said swivable folding arm means of said foil.

Claim 11

A packing machine according to claim 8 wherein said foil feeding means includes a means for advancing an indeterminate length of said foil lengthwise toward and over the position established by said product and severing means for severing said indeterminate length of said foil to yield a length of foil sufficient for enclosing said product in the lengthwise direction.