Abstract: The piece of packaging material (e.g. a sheet or plastic placed on the topside of the fiber material to be compacted exhibits marginal zones projecting all around, which must be detached from the press ram after the compressing step and must be placed against the bale. For the automatic detachment of the sheet from the press ram, leaf springs are fastened for this purpose at the side faces of the press ram and urge, after withdrawal of the press box casing, these marginal zones away from the press ram. Subsequently, the press box casing located there above again travels downwardly to the bale, namely only up to the top rim of the latter, during which step the marginal zones of the sheet projecting from the bale in the upward direction are uniformly brought into contact with the bale.

Abstract: A method and mechanism for continuous wrapping of objects in a product package having a reclosable zipper thereon, providing a continuous sheet of thermoplastic film with a reclosable rib and groove fastener profile extending therealong parallel to the formation axis of the film with the profiles interlocked to form a flattened closure, guidingly wrapping the sheet around the object, simultaneously guiding the interlocked fastener to an upright position relative to the object, and flattening the upright interlocked profiles against an outer surface of a wall of the object and thereafter cross-sealing the film at the ends of the object locking the flattened profile to the package end.

Abstract: A mechanism for enveloping a large round bale with a surface wrap material such as plastic sheet or net includes a housing for holding a supply roll of the wrap material. The mechanism and, hence, the housing is mounted on the rear of a bale discharge gate. The housing includes a front wall defined by an upright panel secured across the rear of the gate and having an upper end portion projecting rearwardly and downwardly and a bottom wall spaced below the upper end portion of and being sloped upwardly and rearwardly relative to the front wall. The housing also includes a cover which is vertically pivotally mounted to a pair of brakets located just beneath the upper end portion of the front wall, the cover having a top wall having a forward edge portion which seals against the bottom of the upper end portion of the front wall when the cover is in a closed position.

Abstract: Improvements in a Chub packaging machine wherein paris of clips are applied to voided constricted lenghts of the filled tubing and then such lengths are severed mid-way between each pair of clips. In one improvement the severing knife operates within a composite or dual gathering plate allowing the spacing between the clips in each pair to be appreciably closer than is conventional, thereby reducing wastage of film and product adhering thereto and producing Chub packages with shorter tails or stubs at their opposite ends.

Abstract: An apparatus for filling trays with cigarettes, or the like, comprises a cigarette-supplying hopper (1) at the outlet of which there is arranged a plurality of vertical or slightly inclined, generally parallel channels (2), or a plurality of passages defined by equispaced adjacent rollers, through which the cigarettes move down by gravity, the width of channels (2) and the distance between the rollers being slightly greater than the cigarette diameter, provision being made of means for facilitating the cigarette downward movement and of means for interrupting it. In order to facilitate the descent of the cigarettes, the channels (2) are so made as to be swingable to and fro, transversely to the direction of the cigarette downward movement.

Abstract: An apparatus for filling receptacles with honey comprising heating means and pumping means to force the honey in a circular shaped filler with a plurality of feed tubes arranged like spokes on a wheel. A conveyor nestles the receptacles between clogs of the conveyor. As each feed tube is inserted in the receptacle, the receptacle is filled. Additionally, the receptacle, which is moving on the conveyor, causes the filler to rotate so that each successive receptacle is filled by the next feed tube. A bottom sealer and a top sealer gradually squeeze the ends of the receptacle until they are cut and sealed by a current carrying wire.

Abstract: A method of wrapping cylindrical bales of crop material with netting material for use with apparatus including a feed roller which may be selectively driven to dispense the netting material from a supply roll into a round baler. The apparatus has a home position and a cutting position wherein the feed roller is latched. The apparatus also has a feeding position wherein the feed roller is driven. The method includes the steps of latching the feed roller when the apparatus is in the home position, unlatching the feed roller when the apparatus is moved from the home position to the feeding position, relatching the feed roller when the apparatus is moved from the feeding position to the cutting position, and maintaining the feed roller latched as the apparatus is moved from the cutting position to the home position.

Abstract: A machine is provided for continuously packing products, in particular food or pharmaceutical products, in plastic material containers, comprising a thermoforming station in which a horizontal platen receives two identical mold parts and is mounted for rotation about an axis between a position for thermoforming the containers and a position for receiving decorative elements for the containers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for building up a ground store of pressed vegetable material wherein the material is picked up by a tractor loader and successively put through a funnel element which carries a store of a retractable plastic sheet hose, whereby a long row of bails are stored in the hose. The funnel element is moved stepwise forwardly by the tractor to consecutively provide the necessary space in the hose for enabling an introduction of the next bail. The tractor and/or loader may be provided with equipment for applying a treating fluid to the bails during the handling thereof, and the bails, thus treated, are stored in a practically sealed manner in the tubular sheet hose.

Abstract: This is a stretch bundler for use in bundling a variety of loads. A method and apparatus description defines this invention by the use of the novel film gripper mechanism used. The gripper mechanism stretches the width of a film while holding its leading edge. It then releases the film and continues the boundling operation by rotating a film dispenser thereabout and dispensing the film around the load.

Abstract: In a carton loading machine, there is provided a mechanism which will initially displace one row of cylindrical-shaped objects with respect to its adjacent row such that load items in one row are located in a staggered relationship with respect to the load items in the adjacent row. The load items are then displaced into the open end of a container. When the assembled load is substantially fully located within the container, the movement of one row is arrested while the movement of the other row continues until the items of the adjacent rows are arranged in a side-by-side relationship. This serves to permit the width of the accumulated load to be reduced until the load is substantially fully located in a carton and thereafter the load is rearranged to its maximum width to fit in a close fitting relationship within the carton.

Abstract: A wrapping material roll support assembly which supports the roll of wrapping material within the wrapping device and permits easy placement of the roll of wrapping material thereon. Two spaced apart parallel rollers support the roll or wrapping material by contacting the outer circumference thereof. An adjustable tension brake frictionally engages the parallel rollers which support the roll of wrapping material. By adjusting the tension provided by the brake, undesired unrolling of the free end of the roll of wrapping material can be prevented. A safety catch is received through the core of the roll of wrapping material preventing the roll from falling from the roll support assembly.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for opening the sealing flaps of a carton using drive elements for spreading or folding such sealing flaps open as required for packaging cartons having sealed bottoms. The boxes are inverted and lowered from a floating position with the bottom up and the sealing flaps hanging down. The flaps are placed on drive elements which move away from each other and in the flap opening direction. The box is then moved to a packaging area in the inverted position and lowered over the materials to be packaged.

Abstract: A container for transporting a compressed block of tobacco (18) comprises rectangular bottom top front rear and two side walls (2,4,1,3,5,6) which are formed of pliable sheets of non-shape sustaining fabric, such as woven polypropylene. The top wall (4) is connectable by a sliding clasp fastener (9,10,11,12) along three of its edges to the adjacent upper edges of adjacent walls.

Abstract: An apparatus and method adaptable to a double indexing forming, filling and sealing machine for packaging liquid products in cartons, associated with the filling and top forming and sealing units for displacing with nitrogen the oxygen normally present in the headspace of the filled cartons. The apparatus includes a housing having a covered chamber and open bottom, with a diffuser screen and pairs of baffle arrangements therein for directing the nitrogen downwardly and forwardly into the leading carton of an aligned pair of filled but open-topped cartons, and downwardly and rearwardly into the trailing carton of the pair prior to sealing the end closures thereof.

Abstract: A device for tightly sealing bags and/or envelopes destined to the vacuum packaging of products, in particular foodstuffs, comprising a clamping member equipped with means for grasping and tightly closing against each other mutually opposite edges in correspondence of the open side of said bag. With the grasping and clamping means, a valve element cooperates, through which the air contained inside the bag can be evacuated when to the bag a vacuum source is applied.

Abstract: In a load transporting conveyor of the type which has a plurality of load confining compartments located thereon which are transported by the conveyor along a load transporting path, there is provided a load settling mechanism. The load settling mechanism includes a load support platform which forms a bottom wall of each compartment. Resilient suspension members support the bottom wall with respect to the conveyor such that it is free to vibrate with respect to the conveyor. A vibration activator mechanism is located along the load transporting path so as to engage successive load support platforms as they are transported along the load transporting path to cause the load support platform to vibrate to thereby vibrate any load which is located thereon to cause the load to settle into the load confining compartment.

Abstract: The round baler for agricultural stalk crops comprises a round-bale wrapping device with a netting web, as well as a separation device for severing the netting web. Said device consists of a beating knife bar and an anvil which is formed as a countercutter and stationarily mounted on the frame and whose surface which is acted upon by the beating knife bar is provided with a plurality of parallel spaced-apart recesses.

Abstract: A vacuum-packing machine for sucking the excess air from a wrapping bag containing granular substances and others, creating a vacuum inside the wrapping bag. The wrapping bag is placed on a base, and holes are made on the wrapping bag through a sucking hole by a puncturing device. The air inside the wrapping bag is then sucked by an air sucking device, after which, a piston moves, and a seal adhering to the surface of a sponge on top of the piston seals the holes on the wrapping bag. The seal is supplied to the sponge by a seal supplying device. An air blowing pipe is provided to facilitate the peeling off of the seal from a tape containing the seals.

Abstract: A thin sheet with a suitable degree of flexibility is interposed between tips of cigarettes to be packed in a package and the inner surface of a top of the package so that when the upper portion of the package is opened to define a cigarette picking up opening, the thin sheet remains in said opening in the form of an inner cover or lid.