Abstract: In order to envelop the necks of a series of continuously moving bottles with decorative or informative tubular attachments, an elongate tube of heat-shrinkable plastic material is flattened first in one longitudinal plane and then in another longitudinal plane, perpendicular to the former, to produce a sheath with two substantially flat sides bearing the traces of a first pair of creases while being bounded by a second pair of creases. The longitudinally advancing sheath is cut into clippings of predetermined length that are advanced codirectionally therewith but at higher speed along a sloping guidepath in which the existing creases are caused to converge while the original creases reappear as the two sides are progressively spread apart.

Abstract: A plastic sleeve is fabricated by: winding a blank of plastic film around a hollow cylindrical mandrel having a groove of arcuate cross section extending in the mandrel axial direction along the mandrel outer surface and having numerous through holes through its wall including the concave surface of the groove, the blank ends being overlapped; applying a vacuum through the holes to the inner surface of the blank thereby to draw it by suction tightly against the mandrel outer surface; heat sealing the overlapped ends of the blank thereby to form a sleeve; and vitiating the vacuum and applying pressure above atmospheric to the inner surface of the sleeve thereby to facilitate the succeeding step of stripping the sleeve from the mandrel and fitting it on a glass bottle.

Abstract: A cap seal fitting machine for a container, wherein a cap seal of a film piece is punched from a film sheet by a punching means and is held onto one of molds which are radially arranged in the periphery of a rotary disc plate which is intermittently turned around its axis, wherein the cap seal held on the mold is molded into a desired shape by a molding means, and wherein the cap seal molded is transferred from the mold to the top of the container for fitting thereon by a transfer means. The punching means, the molding means, and the transfer means are operated while the rotary disc plate is stopped.

Abstract: A straight line transport, positively controlled banding apparatus and method. According to the method of the present invention, transport of a band is in a straight line from a starting position adjacent a mandrel, onto the mandrel band receiving end, along the mandrel to the mandrel delivery end, and directly off of the mandrel onto an article to be banded, and is positively controlled throughout the entire transport step of the process. According to a preferred embodiment of the banding apparatus, the apparatus comprises a tube opener, drive rollers for feeding and creasing a tube of banding material, a mandrel having a receiving end tapered to a knife-like edge, fingers for transporting a band along the mandrel, and means operable in synchronism with the fingers for holding the mandrel. In operation, the tube opener is inserted into the end of a tube and the tube end fed through the drive rollers which results in a partially open tube creased at ninety degree intervals around the tube.

Abstract: A machine for applying tubing over any desired area of an object, including a supply of flat, flexible tubing having sharp creases on either side of the tubing, apparatus for reducing slightly the creases to open partially the tubing, a knife for cutting the partially opened tubing to provide a predetermined length of cut tubing, a mechanism to hold externally at the reduced creases the tubing which is being cut and to shape the cut tubing into any desired shape corresponding to the shape of the object which is to receive the cut tubing, and apparatus for moving the cut and shaped tubing around the object. In one embodiment, the holding and shaping mechanism is moved together with the cut tubing over the object, the mechanism then releasing the cut tubing around the object and returning to an initial position to hold and shape additional cut tubing. In another embodiment, the mechanism is held away from the object, but the cut tubing is caused to slide out of the mechanism and over the object.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for automatically lidding drinking cups with a film of thermoplastic sheet material. The apparatus includes a cup support adapted to raise a cup placed thereon into contact with a leading section of thermoplastic film drawn from a roll and to hold the cup while a reciprocating heated platen heat seals the film section against the cup rim. The cup support then lowers the lidded cup while a film advance mechanism draws out a fresh section of film into sealing position. A control system is included with the apparatus for operating the apparatus in predetermined timed sequence.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for applying a closure to a receptacle is disclosed wherein an open top receptacle is moved along a processing path on an indexing conveyor and an outer lid and flexible inner closure sheet are placed together and on the open receptacle by a rotatably indexing, horizontally mounted drum assembly with a generally hexagonal exterior presenting six faces which each comprises a closure sheet carrier plate. Mounted within a central recess in each sheet carrier plate is a lid carrier plate which is movable between a seated position within the sheet carrier plate and an extended position displaced from the sheet carrier plate. A continuous strip of closure sheet is maintained adjacent one side of the drum assembly between the drum assembly and an intermittently driven cutter. In operation, the drum assembly is rotatably indexed in a first 60.degree.

Abstract: A device for applying lengths of a heat sealable film over the open ends of cups. The device includes means which engage the end of a supply length of the film which is coiled in a cartridge, pull a predetermined length of the film from the cartridge, move the cup and predetermined length of film into engagement, heat fuse the film to the lip of the cup, and cut the fused length of film from the supply length at the cartridge.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for encapsulating a container with a tubular wrapping member. The tubular wrapping member is dilated by a suction unit and fed onto one end of a guide member which is aligned with the container to be encapsulated and which is held at a lifted position by chucks. After disengaging the chucks from the guide member, an engaging means is caused to engage with the guide member and move along the axis of the guide member from one end toward another end thereof for thereby transferring the tubular wrapping member onto the container to be encapsulated.

Abstract: A device for applying a section of pressure sensitive tape as a cover over the surface of a test tray having a multiplicity of upwardly open wells comprises a base having a sealing zone intermediate a tray loading zone and a tray removal zone. The tray is placed on a slide guide at the loading zone and moved to the sealing zone where a rotatable resiliently surfaced feed roller presses the leading end of the tape upon and along the top surface of the tray while moving the tray through the device.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for automatically dispensing cups to a continuously moving flight conveyor having openings for receiving the cups and carrying the same continuously forward through a cup-filling station, a cup capping station and a cup discharge station. A cup filling means travels forwardly while filling the cups and a heat sealer means heat seals caps to the cup rims while traveling forwardly with the cups. At the discharge station, the cups are automatically lifted and transferred from openings in the flight conveyor to a take-off means as the cups continuously travel forwardly. The apparatus is also capable of being modified to operate on an intermittent feed basis with the cups stopping at each of the respective stations.