Abstract: A forming shoulder for a forming and filling tube of a form, fill and seal machine has a skirt provided with a guide channel for a longitudinal zipper area of a package making material sheet running over the forming shoulder, thereby retaining the zipper area and the sheet against lateral drifting.

Abstract: A high speed apparatus for cutting and wrapping soft chewing gum comprises a plurality of substantially parallel cutters having cutting heads to cut the gum into relatively thin rectangular-shaped pieces. The cutters are moved to a position where each individually shaped piece of gum is placed into a nest on a wrapping tray with a wrapper located therebetween. The cutters are moved in an eccentric ovoid path by a ring wheel and grooved cam wheel arrangement which causes the cutting heads to separate and move back together as they move through a cycle. During placement of the stick of gum in the nest, a flat side of the shaped piece of gum is urged against the flat bottom of the nest. The apparatus further comprises an apparatus to complete wrapping the wrapper around the piece of gum.

Abstract: A method of assembling a trigger sprayer which includes a container for holding a product, a pump module for pumping the product and a pump actuating module for actuating the pump. The method comprises adding the product to the container, placing the pump module into the container, and relatively advancing the pump actuating module and the container holding the pump module so that locking means locks the three components together and mating means join complementary portions of the pump module and the pump actuation module together.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming bags from a thin plastic film in a tube form fill operation wherein plastic film is fed over the outer surface of the tube and the edges of the film are joined to provide a bag tube and an antistatic friction reduction surface treatment is provided on the outer surface of the tube for encouraging sliding movement of the film and insuring uniform feed with the friction reducing and electrically insulating material in the form of a plastic coating or ribs to produce the desired result.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a seamless tube formed of a titanium material, such as pure titanium or titanium alloys, by the use of the Mannesmann's method. At first, an ingot formed of the titanium material is processed under the conditions that a heating temperature is 850.degree. to 1,250.degree. C., the final temperature being 600.degree. to 1,100.degree. C., and a working degree being 50% or more so as to be turned into a solid billet. The resulting solid billet is subjected to a piercing within a temperature range of .beta. transus -100.degree. to 1,250.degree. C. so as to be turned into a hollow piece. In this piercing process, inclined rolls of a piercer are descaled. The resulting hollow piece is, in case of need, regulated a size thereof by elongating so as to be turned into a hollow shell. Subsequently, the resulting hollow shell is subjected to a reducing step (reducing conditions: temperature at an inlet side of the mill is 600.degree. to 1,100.degree. C.

Abstract: A heat seal carrier assembly is provided for mating a covering material with a deformable sealing portion of a product-filled container to seal the container. The carrier assembly has an upstanding wall including a top surface having a raised ridge thereon. The container is situated on the carrier assembly to properly align the container sealing portion with the top surface of the upstanding wall of the carrier assembly. A heat seal head moves downwardly to press the covering material and the sealing portion of the container against the raised ridge and the top surface of the upstanding wall of the carrier assembly to seal the covering material and the sealing portion of the container together.

Abstract: In a hot strip mill having a roughing mill, a finishing mill including a plurality of stands and a delay table having a coil box and being disposed between the roughing mill and the finishing mill, a temperature drop in the delay table is calculated for a model of the coil box portion and a model of the remaining portion of the delay table. The bar temperature on an entry side of the coil box is not calculated from the surface temperature on a delivery side of the roughing mill but from an average temperature obtained by operations. The lowering of the temperature of a bar on the delay table is obtained by only one non-repetitive calculation.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for wrapping a product, particularly a bundle of newspapers or magazines, especially an extra thick bundle or an extra thin bundle comprising a few or a single newspaper or magazine. The product is carried on a conveyor system through a plane towards a curtain of film formed by an upper and a lower sheet of film. The curtain thus accompanies the product and is auto-sealed behind the product, after which the sheets of film are separated in the middle of the sealing region, the curtain of film being re-established and the product being provided with a wrapper.

Abstract: The machine includes, arranged in a line, a roller advancement device for intermittently advancing a band of supporting material having an adhesive face, a perforation station bearing a punch for providing a series of evenly spaced perforations on the band of supporting material, an auxiliary band being attached to the band of supporting material to increase the band of supporting material's resistance to deformation, a station with rollers and a linearly actuated blade for feeding and cutting a band of bandage material into segments, a roller advancement device for spacing and coupling the bandage segments onto the adhesive face of the supporting material, a roller advancement device for superimposing band-like protective films onto the adhesive face of the supporting material having the bandage segments attached thereon, thereby forming a composite band, a die-cutting station bearing a cutting element for transversely cutting the composite band in an intermediate position between the bandage segments so as

Abstract: An elongated, rod-like rack for use in an automotive-type steering gear assembly and like mechanisms, is formed of an elongated extruded tube divided lengthwise into a substantially solid rack portion and a substantially hollow, link portion. Transversely extending teeth are broached on the rack portion for engagement with a drive pinion and the like for transmitting power through the rack. The rack is formed by positioning a tubular blank within an open ended extrusion die having an extrusion throat and partially pushing the tubular blank through the throat for extruding the material longitudinally and collapsing radially inwardly top form a substantially solid, elongated rack portion. Then, extrusion is continued with a punch having a mandrel arranged within the blank and within the die throat for extruding a thin wall length, forming the hollow, integral link part of the rack. The trailing end may be terminated in an inwardly extending, thick wall portion suitable for forming threads thereon.

Abstract: This invention provides method and apparatus for reshaping the bottom wall of an aluminum can body wherein a mold member having a generally cylindrical outer surface having a longitudinal axis and a contoured bottom surface is mounted for rotation in a support structure and an aluminum can body having a generally cylindrical sidewall having a longitudinal axis and an integral bottom wall is secured on the mold member so that an annular portion of the bottom wall contacts at least an annular portion of the contoured bottom surface and the longitudinal axes thereof coincide. As the mold member and the can body are rotated, resilient forces are applied to the bottom wall using a tool member having a spherical surface which is moved in a diametrical linear direction across the bottom wall to reshape the bottom wall into conformation with the contoured bottom surface.

Abstract: A web of heat-sealable film is advanced in overlying relation with filled cups to a sealing station where both the web and the cups dwell momentarily. During the dwell period, sealing heads advance downwardly and seal the web to the upper end portions of the cups. The heads are advanced downwardly with a two-step stroke, the heads first advancing in unision with a carriage and then being individually advanced by individual pneumatic actuators which are mounted on the carriage. After being sealed, the cups are indexed to a cutting station where annular knives are advanced downwardly to cut through the web and leave each cup with a circular sealing membrane. The knives are advanced with a two-step stroke similar to that of the sealing head.

Abstract: A device is provided for packing in supple bags articles billed individually at a check-out desk of a self-service store. The device includes: two slightly inclined rods; a reserve of supple bags suspended vertically from said rods via handles; means for evacuating these bags once filled; wherein the terminal part of each of the suspension rods, towards the free end thereof, presents a surface state different from the preceding part of the rod and such that the coefficient of friction of this terminal part is greater than that of the preceding part of the rod, with the result that the resistance to slide of the handles on this terminal part of the rods becomes greater than the previous resistance to slide, thus allowing, by the force of retention thus employed, the rupture of the separable point of connection between the rear face of the evacuated filled bag and the front face of the following empty bag pulled towards its position for filling.

Abstract: An industrial robot, designed for use in a press brake system, has a holding member for holding a plate shaped material, a base arm, and a working arm. The holding member nearly follows the plate shaped material without holding during a pressing process of the press brake by ensuring sufficient reciprocating distance between the holding member and the base arm, and by decreasing the mass of rotary axes and corresponding second arm members of the working arm which is used to control direction, altitude and other aspects of the plate shaped material. The industrial robot preferably ensures a degree of freedom in the width direction of the press brake by rotatably securing a first arm member to the base arm.

Abstract: Cups or lids for packaging foodstuffs and the like in a sterile environment are sterilized in the packaging machine by passing them through a sterilizing chamber to be contacted first by the hydrogen peroxide and then by hot air. The packaging elements are initially moved apart rapidly and are than brought toward one another without contact, periodically in the sterilizing chamber to improve the contact of the sterilizing and drying fluid with the surfaces.

Abstract: A method for packaging electric wiring by using a grasping tool to assist in ensleeving the wiring in a plastic sleeve. Subsequent to ensleeving the grasping tool is disengaged. The sleeve with the enclosed wiring is folded over to form a neat compact package which is secured and ready for storage.

Abstract: A crimper in which jaws are swung into crimping engagement with a bottle cap in response to downward movement of a plunger. Downward movement of the plunger is effected by a lever which is located below a handle joined to the body of the crimper. When the handle and the lever are squeezed, the lever is pulled upwardly toward the handle to actuate the crimper and, at the same time, the handle and the body are pressed downwardly to keep the crimper stable on the bottle. The length of the stroke of the lever may be changed by varying the setting of an adjusting screw which is carried by the lever.

Abstract: Form and fill packaging apparatus including a vacuum thermoformer where a first plastic web is formed to provide receptacles for receiving articles, a filling station where articles are placed in the formed receptacles, a sealing station where a second web is placed over the filled receptacles and sealed to portions of the web around the receptacles, first web drive means for driving the first web through the thermoformer, filling station and sealing station, and a feed mechanism for positively feeding the second web to the first web at the sealing station synchronously with driving of the first web.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming bags, such as from a continuous sheet of thermoplastic film fed forwardly and wrapped over a forming tube with the contents being filled into the bag through the tube and the end of the film formed into a bag tube being cross-sealed. The lower end of the filling tube is constructed so as to elastically deform and spread as sealing members move in laterally and thereby spread and flatten the tube to insure the making of a seal which is devoid to wrinkles and leakage possibilities.

Abstract: Automatically adjustable lane guide and grid packing systems which provide for automated accommodation of articles of different size in controlling the transport of rows of moving articles.