Abstract: Provided by the invention is a buckle-plate folding station including a first folding roller and two further contra-rotating fold-forming rollers and an adjustable buckle-plate folding unit. The intention of the invention is to provide a buckle-plate folding station enabling the point in time of fold formation to be determined. For this purpose means for detecting sheet infeed are provided in the buckle-plate folding station. The buckle-plate folding station further comprises means for detecting the deflection of at least one of the fold-forming rollers in forming the fold. Means for determining the sheet length fed between sheet infeed and formation of the fold are also provided.

Abstract: A flexible pouch includes a flexible compartment with a bottom. A rim is formed around the bottom of the compartment and is spaced from and extends outwardly from this compartment bottom. At least three coplanar feet are provided on the rim for stabilizing the pouch when the pouch is resting on the rim. These coplanar feet can be generally flush with the rim when the pouch is in a flat, empty position. However, when the compartment of the pouch is filled, the coplanar feet will be formed as the lowermost portions of the rim. The pouch will rest on these coplanar feet when on a support to be stably held in position. This pouch design will avoid wobbling or tipping over of the pouch and therefore minimize or eliminate product spillage. Also, a method for making this pouch includes the steps of forming the pouch with the compartment, providing a rim around the bottom of the compartment, and spacing the rim from the bottom of the compartment.

Abstract: A single web is printed in side-by-side relation with variable and non-variable information forming document and envelope web portions. The web is split longitudinally and the document web portion is cut to form discrete documents. Each document is folded about transverse foldlines to form a folded document and rotated 90.degree. for registration with matching envelope portions on the envelope web. Glue lines are applied to the envelope web. The envelope web is then plow-folded along both margins to form first and second flaps overlying and containing the document within the envelope portion of the envelope web. The glue lines are sealed to one another and excess envelope web material between adjacent envelopes is removed whereby envelopes containing documents sealed within the envelopes and forming mailers are provided.

Abstract: An octagonal container is formed from corrugated paperboard with overlapping flaps for eliminating gaps in the container bottom wall. Prestretched polypropylene straps are automatically applied to the container when in its flattened condition for providing girth support to the container when in its erected condition. The straps are positioned from the lower portion of the container side walls at ever increasing distances from each other for limiting container bulge when carrying products having varying effects on the container. With such an arrangement of straps, economically and environmentally desirable single and double wall corrugated paperboard can be used where typically triple wall and laminated paperboard containers are used.

Abstract: A document facing apparatus for reversing the face orientation of a document includes four substantially similar document folding modules, each having a document gripping and advancing portion and a folding portion. The gripping and advancing portion engages the document along a first longitudinal half portion, with substantially the other longitudinal half portion extending outwardly of the gripping and advancing portion, and advances the entire document through the folding module. The document folding portion engages the document along its other longitudinal half portion and folds the other longitudinal half portion of the document to a substantially 90.degree. angle relative to its initial orientation upon entering the document folding portion. Four document folding modules may be aligned in a given sequence such that a document passing therethrough will have its face orientation reversed.

Abstract: A bale wrapper includes a frame with a leading end having steerable wheels and a transport pole connected to the steerable wheels, a trailing end with braked wheels, and a central portion. A bale-loading deck adjacent the leading end includes spaced-apart guide rails, tubular supports between the spaced-apart guide rails which define a standard path and an elevated path, and a hydraulically powered pushbar for translating a bale. A single centrally located hoop assembly has two opposed rolls of plastic film and is carried and supported by and between a first idler assembly mounted on one side of the frame and a second idler assembly mounted on the opposite side of the frame, the hoop assembly having an inner edge and a powered rubber wheel bearing against the inner edge. The bale wrapper includes a power source.

Abstract: Process for manufacturing blister packs, for example to accommodate items such as pharmaceutical items in the form of capsules, coated capsules, ampoules etc., from a base part and a lid part made from strip shaped packaging material. The base part exhibits permanently shaped recesses which are surrounded by shoulders and the lid part exhibits permanently shaped recesses which are surrounded by shoulders; the base and lid parts lie on a plane of symmetry and the base and lid parts are joined at their shoulders over the whole or part of the surface area in the region of the plane of symmetry; the recesses in the base and lid parts which are symmetrically arranged with respect to the plane of symmetry form compartments and the contents are contained in the compartments. The blister packs may be manufactured, for example, by folding or turning over an endless strip of packaging material along a line of symmetry.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an airtight box from cardboard. The box has side wall panels and end wall panels. After a blank has been cut out, a flexible material strip is connected with the side wall panels and a number of end wall panels through adhesion. The material strip is attached to each of a number of other end wall panels while leaving clear two triangular portions not provided with adhesive which are located adjacent the free edges of the corresponding end panel. The blank is then erected to form a box through folding and adhesion with the adhesive being applied to the blank by at least one stamp. The stamp is of such design that the adhesive layer on the relevant end wall panel terminates at some distance from the edge of the adjacent end wall panel.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for stripping the end seal area in a vertical form, fill and seal machine. First and second wiper members are secured to the sealing jaws and extend toward the film tube being formed, filled and sealed. The wiper members have engagement portions vertically staggered or offset from one another which engage opposite sides of the film tube for the purposes of stripping. The stripping apparatus and process can be used with intermittent machines which use film reversal for stripping, as well as continuous motion machines which always advance the film in the forward direction.

Abstract: An apparatus is used to form a container from a blank which has innermost fold lines that confine a closed bottom of the container, and outer fold lines that extend outwardly from four corners of the bottom. The apparatus includes a blank forming device which defines a forming passage of polygonal cross-section and having four corners. A blank feeding device is adapted to feed the blank towards the blank forming device in a first direction substantially parallel to the cross-section of the forming passage. A punching mechanism has a punch head of polygonal cross-section and capable of passing through the forming passage in a second direction transverse to the first direction. The punch head has a forward end formed with a polygonal push pad for pushing the blank through the forming passage.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for forming a filter cartridge which includes the steps of providing a cylindrical filter element having a plurality of radially extending longitudinal pleats, engaging an outer periphery of the cylindrical filter element along a substantial portion of the length thereof, and simultaneously moving the plurality of radially extending longitudinal pleats into a laid-over spiraled configuration along the entire length of the cylindrical filter element to form a spiral pleated filter element. An apparatus is also disclosed for effectuating the disclosed method.

Abstract: Featured is a web sealing device for controlling the sealing pressure so as to carry out a sufficient sealing while monitoring the sealing pressure directly acting on the web. Also featured is a packaging container producing equipment using the aforementioned sealing device and a packaging container producing method using the same. When sealing a part of web W by engaging hooks 16a, 16b, which directly give a sealing pressure to the web W in order to seal a part of both web N by heating and melting both side surfaces of a double web while pressing the same, the strain amount of the hooks 16a, 16b is measured by a strain gauge 23.

Abstract: The apparatus of the present invention includes an indexing feeder for feeding the elongated food articles, a first slicing station and a second slicing station disposed along the indexing feeder for slicing the food articles into slabs, and a container conveyor system for delivering containers to receive the slabs. The articles are placed individually into winged troughs ("flights") carried by the indexing feeder and the feeder is advanced by two flight spacings in each slicing cycle. The second slicing station is displaced from the first slicing station by an odd number of flights. Each slicing station further includes an indexing turret with a number of self-centering chucks disposed around the periphery of the turret. The turret is rotated in such a way so as to allow a food article to be inserted into each chuck as the chuck rotates past the indexing feeder.

Abstract: A separator for cutting a cushioning/packing material generally in the form of a continuous web made from a base stock of stacked paper sheets, crushed so as to form a cushioning web which moves along a conveyance axis (A) orthogonal to the separator, is characterised in that it includes means for pulling off the portion downstream from said separator, which means operate by a tearing off action exerted at right angles from the conveyance axis (A) and further have means (2, 2', 3, 3') for securely holding the web material in a stationary position at least in the pulling off region, while the tearing means (4) act upon the web material to separate the portion downstream from said separator.

Abstract: A system for pleating a continuous strip of foldable material including feeding the strip of foldable material between adjacent flights of cooperatively positioned endless conveyors having pleat folding arms pivotally associated therewith which are alternatively and interfittingly positioned to pleat the strip of foldable material as it movingly passes from one end of adjacent flights to the other end thereof.

Abstract: A tube-forming machine has a tube forming section for receiving webs of material and forming it into a tube. The tube-forming section has multiple sets of tube formers for forming different types of tubes, and the tube formers are supported on opposite sides of a former bed that is rotatable to bring one or the other of the sets of tube formers into operative position to form a tube.

Abstract: An improved cushioning conversion machine and related methodology characterized by one or more features including, inter alia, a feeding/connecting assembly which enables an operator to easily vary a characteristic, for example, the density, of the cushioning product; a feeding/connecting assembly wherein input and/or output wheels or rollers thereof are made at least in part of an elastomeric or other friction enhancing material, which reduces the cost and complexity of the input and output rollers; a manual reversing mechanism that is useful, for example, for clearing paper jams; a modular arrangement of a forming assembly and feeding/connecting assembly in separate units that may be positioned remotely from one another, as may be desired for more efficient utilization of floor space; a turner bar which enables alternative positioning of a stock supply roll; and a volume expanding arrangement cooperative with the feeding/connecting assembly for adjusting the density of the cushioning product and changing pr

Abstract: A folding apparatus is used to cross-fold printed matter, particularly of variable section lengths. Damage to the printed products is avoided, even at high production speeds. This is accomplished by providing a signature divider after a transverse cutting device, and before two parallel cross-folding devices. The signatures divider alternatingly direct the signatures into two product flow paths. Each product flow path acts as a deceleration line so that the signatures are delivered to the cross-folding devices at half of their original speed.

Abstract: The catches (10) of the brackets (5) which can be made inactive by the elevator when the elevator is in the low position are designed to interact with corresponding cams (20, 21, 22) of different angular extents, keyed to a shaft (17) which is driven by a motor (22) whose speed and phase are electronically controlled and which is supported rotatably by the base of the machine. When a product is fed onto the elevator and its dimensions are measured by known means which then determine the travel of the film unwinding gripper in the packaging station, if necessary the cam shaft is made to rotate through a distance capable of causing the oscillation of the catches of the brackets which are to be disengaged, so that when the elevator rises the unnecessary brackets are already disengaged and oscillate slowly downwards.

Abstract: A device for transporting fruit or produce on an endless chain to a produce container. The produce container is continually weighed, and as it fills with produce and reaches a warning weight, a motor which drives an endless chain slows to a lower speed. When the weight of the produce container and produce exceeds a target weight after the addition of one piece of produce or fruit, a weight comparison means signals the motor to stop. The produce container is released and removed from the device, and new empty one is placed in the device. This allows the produce container to be filled above a target weight by the addition of no more than one piece of fruit or produce.