US2050268A - Wrapping machine - Google Patents

Description

4 sheets-sheet 1 Aug- 11, 1936- w. B. BRONAND'ER WRAPPING MACHINE Fi1ed March 19, 1934 ...i-. E Q%\ Aug. 1l, 1936. W. B. BRONANDER WRAPPING MACHINE Filed March 19, 1954 k4 SheetS--Sllee'kl 2 W//he/m 55m/vander' ATTORNEYS Aug. 1l, 1936. w. B. BRONANDER WRAPPINCP MACHINE Filed March 19, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORN Aug. 11, y1936. w, B. BRONANDER WRAPPING MACHINE Filed March l9, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4- l INVENTOR WI//e/m r'onander'- am ##67 wk ATTORNEYS l Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 16 Claims.

This invention relates to wrapping machines.

More particularly stated, the invention relates to a machine for wrapping relatively soft or compressible articles such as pies, cakes or the like. Unusual difficulties and problems are encountered in the wrapping of such articles due to their fragile or yielding nature. Moreover, at the present time many articles are being wrapped in relatively thin transparent paper which presents further problems in the design of a wrapping machine since such material .is diicult to handle.

This invention has for its salient object to provide a simple and practical Wrapping machine so designed that the wrapping mechanism will not deform or in any way injure the articles wrapped, but will securely wrap the article.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wrapping machine having the wrapping elements so arranged and controlled that the wrapper will be securely held during the folding operations and will be secured around the article Without injuring or deforming the article.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings which form a part of this application, and in which Fig. l is an elevational view of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale showing the portion of the machine in which the wrapper is folded and secured around the article;

r such as pies or cakes and is so designed that the folding devices are controlled in such a manner that they will accomplish their folding functions without deforming the article wrapped. A paper web is fed and cut to form wrappers of the desired size. The wrappers are held in position over shelves or trays and the articles are deposited on the wrappers and are supported by the trays. One fold is made by an upwardly extending flange formed on the tray and the opposite fold is made by folding mechanism which is limited in its folding movement by the advance or front edge of the tray. Tucks are then formed at the ends of the Wrapper and thereafter the lateral extending ends are folded across the top of the article, this end foldthe machine so that they will be firmly secured together.

Further details of the invention will appear from the following description.

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings the machine comprises a frame 20 on which are mounted at the ends thereof a pair of spindles 2l and 22. Each spindle has mounted thereon a pair of sprocket wheels 23 and 24 which support a pair of endless chains 25 and 2G. 'I'he upper laps of the chains are supported on a pair of rails 2l and 28.

There are mounted at spaced intervals on the chains cross members or supporting shelves 30 which serve as supports for the advance corners of the Vwrappers W.

The wrappers W are, as shown in Fig. 2, substantially square in shape and may be fed to the machine in any suitable manner or placed in the position shown in Fig. 2 manually.

In the form of the invention illustrated a web of paper in the form of a supply roll is carried by a spindle 3l which is mounted on posts 32. The web is led upwardly from the supply roll around an idler roller 33 and between a pair of feed rollers 34. The lower roller is mounted on a shaft 35 which is driven by a gear connection from a shaft 35'. Shaft 35' is driven by bevel gear connection 3l from a shaft 38, which in turn is driven from shaft 6I, hereinafter described by a sprocket and chain connection 39. Thus the rollers will be operated continuously and the drive is so timed as to deliver and sever sheets to be gripped and fed with the conveyor. After the web has been fed through the rollers 34 it is severed by any suitable cutting mechanism such as the cutting knife 36, suitably geared to the feed rolls 34.

The wrappers are held on the shelves 30 by means of presser arms A which are pivoted at on cross pins or rods carried by the chains 25 and 26. The arms A have formed on their free ends presser members 4I of rubber or like material. The arms A form a part of levers 43 and are urged in a direction toward .ie shelves 30 by means of springs 44. The levers 43 also have formed integral therewith arms 45 on the free ends of which are mounted rollers 46. These rollers at certain positions in the cycle of operation of the wrapping mechanism engage a cam 41 which causes the arms A to be lifted to release the forward corner of the wrapper.

The chains 25 and 26 also support a plurality of supporting tables which are carried by arms 5| suitably secured to the chains. Each of the tables 50 has an upwardly extending inclined flange 52 at its rear edge. When a wrapper has been positioned as shown at the right hand end of Fig. 2 it will extend above the table immediately in the rear of the shelf 30 on which the wrapper is supported. An article P is then placed on the wrapper and will cause the rear corner X to extend upwardly due to the "ange 52. The chains operate intermittently in a manner hereinafter described and feed the articles step by step through the wrapping mechanism.

The driving mechanism for the chains operates as follows: The main driving shaft is shown at S in Fig. 1 and is driven from any suitable source of power. This shaft has mounted thereon a sprocket wheel 55 which is connected by a chain 56 to drive a, sprocket wheel 51 mounted on a shaft 6|. The shaft 6| also has secured thereto a Geneva cam 62 and an arm 63 which extends on opposite sides of the spindle and has formed or secured to theends thereof lugs or rollers 64. A Geneva wheel G is mounted on a shaft or spindle and is intermittently operated by the lugs or rollers 64 in the usual well known manner. During the periods between the operation of the Geneva wheel the cam 62 engages correspondingly shaped portions of the Geneva wheel in the usual manner. The spindle 65 has mounted thereon a gear 66 which meshes with a gear 61 secured to thc shaft 22.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that the rotation of the shaft S will through the driving connections described intermittently operate the shaft 22 and thus intermittently feed the chains 25 and 26 and the article supports and other devices carried thereby.

The folding and wrapping mechanism is particularly illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, y5, and 6. After an article has been placed on a wrapper which is disposed above one of the supporting tables 50 the rear corner X of the wrapper will be forced upwardly by the flange 52 disposed along the rear edge of the table 50, as above described. In order to assist in forcing the rear corner upwardly a conduit 10 is disposed below the upper lap of the chains and is positioned to direct a blast of air against the end surface of the rear corner X when the article and wrapper reach the position shown in Fig. 3. The front corner Y of the wrapper which has been held by the presser arms A is released when the cam 41 engages the roller 46 which controls the arms. At this time the front corner Y is folded upwardly and across the top of the article P in the following manner: In order to facilitate reference to the showings at the three stages of the wrapping operation illustrated in Fig. 3 these stages will be referred to as I, II and III.

The folding of the front corner Y is accomplished by means of a lever 1| pivoted on a cross rod 12 carried by the chains and having a plate 14 at one end thereof and a roller 15 at the other end thereof. The spring 11 engages the lever and tends to swing the lever in a clockwise direction. During the inoperative portion of the cycle 0f operation of the lever 1| the roller 15 engages a cam or rail 16 which holds the lever in the position shown at III in Fig. 3. Two rails-or ledges 16 are provided to hold the lever in inoperative position since this lever is operative only during a very small portion of the movement of the articles through the wrapping mechanism. An air blast conduit 18 similar to conduit 10 is positioned to direct a blast of air and force the forward 5 corner Y of the wrapper upwardly. When the roller 15 rides down off of the rail 16 the spring 11 will swing the lever and plate 14 to the position shown at I. The forward corner Y o1' the wrapper will thus be folded up against the front 10 edge of the article P. It should be noted, however, that the movement of the plate toward the article is limited by the front edge of the supporting table 50 so that the plate 14 cannot compress, deform or distort the article being wrapped. l5 A blast of air from conduit 18 blows the end of corner Y upwardly.

The presser members 4| which initially hold the front corner Y of the wrapper against the shelf 30 are released from holding position in 20 order to receive the wrapper in the following manner: A lever arm is mounted on a shaft 8| and a lower arm 82 is also connected to the shaft 8| and is connected by a link 83 to a lever 84 mounted on a fixed pivot 85. A spring 86 urges 25 the lever 84 in a clockwise direction and the lever has a roller 81 on its lower end which is held in engagement with a cam 88. As the cam rotates the lever and link will cause the lever arm 80 to swing in an anticlockwise direction 30 against the tension of the spring 86 and this movement of the lever will swing the lever 43 about its pivot in an anticlockwise direction and will raise the presser members 4|. This operation is so timed that the members will be raised to per- 35 mit the insertion of the wrapper W.

The folding mechanism for folding the corner Y of the wrapper down against the top of the article P will now be described. The shaft S is connected by a sprocket 90 and chain 9| to 40 drive a sprocket 92 mounted on a spindle 93. The spindle 93 is in turn mounted in brackets 94 secured to the frame of the machine. The spindle 93 has also secured thereto a gear 95 which meshes with a gear 96 carried by a shaft 91. 0n 45 the shaft 91 there is mounted a cam 98. A stub shaft 99 is mounted in one of the brackets 94 parallel to the shaft 91, the shaft 99 being disposed in alinement with the shaft 93. The shafts 93 and 99 have mounted thereon downwardly ex- 50 tending arms |00 and 0| to which are adiustably secured extensions |02 and |03, these parts being connected by bolts |04 carried by the arms |00 and |0| and extending through slots in the arms |02 and |03. Arm |00 is fixed to shaft 99 and arm 55 |0| is free on shaft 93. The lower ends of the arms 02 and |03 are connected by a cross strip or plate |05 and are also connected by a pivoted plate |06 which is provided with flanges at the ends pivoted to the arms |02 and |03. The plate 50 06 is recessed at the central portion thereof, as shown at |01, to clear the sponge rubber rollers. 'I'he plate |06 is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction about the pivoted ends thereof by a pair of springs ||0 and which are con- 65 nected to the arms |02 and |03 and to the end portions of the plate. An arm ||3 is secured to the shaft 99 and is provided with a roller IH at the free end thereof which is held in engagement with the cam 98 by a spring ||5. As the 70 cam rotates the shaft 99 and arms 02 and |03 will be oscillated back and forth to move the arms |02 and |03 and the plate |06 carried thereby toward or away from-the article disposed on the supporting table 50. 15

At the position shown at I the arms |02 and |08 are disposed at their extreme movement in.

an anti-clockwise direction and it will be noted that the plate |06 is pressing down on the upper surface of the corner Y of the wrapper. The plate |06 is swung down against the tension of the springs ||0 and by engagement of a flange which extends along the rear edge of the plate with the plate 14 and, as above stated, the movement of the plate 14 toward the wrapped article is limited by the rear or advance edge of the table 50. When the cam 98 rotates in a clockwise direction the arm ||3 and arms |02 and |03 will be swung in a clockwise direction, thus moving the arms and the plate |06 carried thereby to an elevated position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 out of the path of movement of the article shown at I.

After the corner Y has been folded down against the article the opposite corner X is folded over the corner Y in the following manner: The shaft 91 has mounted thereon an arm |25 on the outer end of which is adjustably mounted by a slotted connection an arcuate or crescent shaped plate |26. This plate has formed on its lower end a flange or cross strip |21. On the plate |26 are mounted a pair of rollers |28 and |29 which are of soft yieldable material such as sponge rubber. In the cycle of operation of the folding mechanism after the corner Y has been folded down, as shown at I in Fig. 3, the rotation of the arm will bring into operation the plate |26, rollers |28 and |29 and the cross strip or flange |21. The flange |21 will engage and fold the corner X which has been blown upwardly by the blast of the conduit 10. The further rotation of the arm |25 will cause the rollers |29 and |28 to engage the upper surface of the front corner X and fold this corner down against the folded corner Y.

These rollers have a further function of applying adhesive substance or a solvent to the upper surfaces of the folded corners X and Y. 'Ihis adhesive is contained in a tank T and drips through an outlet nozzle on a roller |36 disposed in the path of movement of the rollers |28 and |29 as they are rotated with the arm |25 about the axis of the shaft 91. The path of movement of these rollers is indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 1. A pan |31 is disposed below the roller |36 to catch any excess liquid.

After the adhesive has been applied to the upper surfaces of the corners or flaps X and Y the conveyor moves to the next step or, namely,

' from the position at I to the position at II. In

this position the ends of the wrapper are tucked and the other two corners disposed at the lateral ends of the wrapper or at the sides of the conveyor are folded across the corners or portions of the wrapper already folded and are secured thereto. These edge or side corners are indicated in Fig. 4 as C and D.

The tuckers are similar in construction to tucking mechanism commonly used in this art and have not been illustrated in detail. As shown in Figs. l and 3, a pair of tuckers |40 and |4| are disposed at each side edge of the conveyor, these members being carried by arms |42 and |43 mounted on spindles |44 and |45. The spindles are geared together by intermeshing gears |46 and |41. The arm |43 has connected thereto a link |48 which in turn is connected to a bell crank lever comprising a pair of arms |49 and |50, the lever being mounted on a pivot |5|. The arm |50 carries a roller |52 which is actuated by a cam |53, the cam being so designed as to move the tuckers into operative position when the article and wrapper have moved to the position II from the position I. The tuckers are returned to their inoperative position by means of a spring 5 |54 which is connected to one end of the frameI and at the other end to one of the arms |42. A further description of the tucking mechanism is deemed unnecessary as no novelty per se is claimed therein.

The mechanism for folding the ends C and D is illustrated in detail in Figs. 5 and 6 and will now be described. As shown in the figures mentioned a pair of brackets |55 and |56 are mounted on fixed pivots |51. These brackets are angular in shape and each bracket has secured thereto at |59 one edge of a canvas web |60. The other edge of this web extends over the pivot |61 and is connected to a rod |6| which extends downwardly through a frame member |62 and 20 has mounted on the portion thereof below the frame member a spring |63 which tends to stretch the canvas web over the pivot |51. Each bracket also has an extension |64 beyond the outer edge thereof. Each of the brackets |55 and 25 |56 has secured thereto and extending downward ly therefrom viewing Fig. 6 pivot lugs |65 to which is pivoted a rod |66. The rod |66 telescopes in a tube |61, the other end of which is pivoted at |68 to a vertical post |69 slidably 30 mounted in guides |10. A spring |1| surrounds each pair of telescoping members |66 and |61 and tends to force these members apart. Each of the vertical posts |69 has connected thereto a spring |15 which tends to pull the post downwardly. Each of the posts |69 is provided with a pin |16 which is disposed in a slot |11 formed in one end of an arm |18 mounted on the pivot |5| and each arm |18 forms one arm of the bell crank lever, the other arm being indicated as |19. The arms |19 carry rollers |80 which engage respectively one of a pair of cams |8| and |82. One of these cams, namely, |82 is disposed slightly in advance of the other cam in the cycle of operation of the machine so that one of the ends C or D will be folded prior to the folding of the other end.

From the description in the preceding paragraph it will be understood that each post |69 is operated by a bell crank lever and cam, the cams being mounted out of phase with each other in order to properly time the folding of the ends C and D.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate the operation of the folding mechanism just described and from these figures it will be seen that when the posts |69 are raised by the operation of their respective bell crank levers the canvas webs will be folded around the side edges and a portion of the top of the article being wrapped. The slight 60 spring tension on the canvas webs maintains them taut and the telescoping action of the parts |66 and |61 causes the web to be folded tight around the article regardless of the size thereof.

Furthermore, no undue pressure will be placed on the article being wrapped and thus there will be no tendency to deform or mutilate the article. After the ends or corners C and D have been folded across the top of the article the wrapper will be pressed downwardly by a roller |85 which 70 is preferably formed of soft yieldable material such as sponge rubber and is carried by a lever |86 mounted on a pivot |81 and connected by a link |88 to a pin |89 eccentrically mounted on the sprocket wheel 92. During the operation of the roller I B5 on the folded wrapper the conveyor will move with the wrapped article from the position shown at II to the left viewing Fig. 3, thus malntaining the pressure on the wrapper during this feeding movement of the conveyor. When the article and wrapper leave the position shown in II the plate 14 will be depressed by engagement of the roller 46 with the cam 16. The wrapped article will then pass successively beneath a pair of presser rolls |90 and l9| by which the folded portions of the wrapper will be held against the article thus holding the folds until they have been secured and sealed. A

'I'he operation of the folding and wrapping mechanism may be summarized as follows: The web of material is fed through the feed rolls at the end of the machine, this feed being located at an angle to the direction of movement of the conveyor. As each length of web sufficient for a wrapper has been fed by the feed rolls the web is severed and at this point in the cycle of operation of the machine one of the arms or holding members 4| will be held in raised position by the operation of the lever arms 80, 82 which is operated by the cam 88. The holding members 4| then clamp down on the advance corner Y of the wrapper W and hold the wrapper as one of the supporting tables 50 moves upwardly beneath the wrapper. An article P is then placed on the table and the front corner X will be folded upwardly by the flange 52 on the table 50. This is assisted by the air blast from the conduit 10.

At this stage in the operation the plate 14 will swing upwardly under the action of the spring 11, the movement of the plate being limited by the edge of the table 50. This will cause the front corner Y to be folded upwardly and this corner is then folded downwardly against the top of the article by the action of the plate |06 which is swung into position from the dotted to the full line position shown in Fig. 3 by the movement of the arms |02 and |03 under the action of the cam 98 and lever arm H3.

Thereafter the rotation of the arm |25 in a clockwise direction causes the flange |21 to bend the corner X as shown at I in Fig. 3 whereupon it is engaged and folded downwardly by the a/.lhesive applying rollers |29 and |28.

'I'he article and wrapper then move from position I to position II in which latter position the tuckers |40 and |4| come into action and these are succeeded in Ithe folding operation by the folding mechanism shown in Figs. 5 and 6 which move from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 5 and fold the end or edge corners C and D across the corners X and Y which have been already folded. The wrapper is then held in folded position by the action of roller and thereafter passes successively beneath the rollers and |9| which hold the fol-ded portions of the wrapper until they have been secured and sealed by the adhesive.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that a simple, practical and efficient machine has been designed for wrapping fragile or soft articles such as pastry or cake and that the mechanism described will operate to effectively wrap the article.

Although one specific embodiment of the invcntion has been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, means for feeding a web of paper at an oblique angle to the path of movement of the conveyor, means operating at right angles to the direction of paper feed for cutting the web into predetermined lengths of wrapper, means on the conveyor for engaging and holding the advance corners of the severed wrappers as the conveyor travels, means for imparting intermittent movement to the conveyor, means for folding the wrapper around an article on the conveyor and means for securing the folded wrapper.

2. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, means for feeding a web of paper at an oblique angle to the path of movement of the conveyor. means operating at right angles to the direction of paper feed for cutting the web into predetermined lengths of Wrapper, means on the conveyor for engaging and holding the advance corners of the severed wrappers as the conveyor travels, means for imparting intermittent movement to the conveyor, means operable successively at different positions of the conveyor and article for folding the wrapper around an article on the conveyor and means for securing the folded wrapper.

3. In a wrapping machine, e conveyor, means for feeding a web of paper at an oblique angle to the path of movement of the conveyor, means operating at right angles to the direction of paper feed for cutting the web into predetermined lengths of wrapper, means on the conveyor for engaging and holding the advance corners of the severed wrappers as the conveyor travels, means for imparting intermittent movement to the conveyor, means on the conveyor for supporting the articles during the wrapping operations, means for folding the wrapper around an article on the conveyor and means for securing the folded wrapper.

4. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of tables carried by the conveyor for supporting articles to be wrapped, each table having a flange along one edge thereof, means for feeding a Wrapper above said table with one portion extending over the flange, means on the conveyor for holding the wrapper in position over each table, said fiange acting to bend said extending portion upwardly as the article is placed on the wrapper and ltable, and means for folding and means for securing the wrappers around the article on said tables.

5. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of tables carried by the conveyor for supporting articles to be wrapped, each table having a flange along one edge thereof, means for feeding a wrapper above said table with one corner extending over the ange, means on the conveyor for holding the wrapper in position over each table, said flange acting to bend said corner upwardly as the article is placed on the wrapper and table, and means operable successively on the corners of the wrappers for folding and means for securing the Wrappers around the article on said tables.

6. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor, means for folding front and rear portions of a wrapper over articles on said supporting members, yieldabl-e, resilient means disposed above the conveyor for applying adhesive to the folded portions of the wrapper as the article and Wrapper are fed therebeneath, and means for the wrapper,

folding the side portions of the wrapper over the folded portions.

'1. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor, means for folding front and rear portions of a wrapper over articles on said supporting members, yieldable, resilient means for applying adhesive to the wrapper, said means including a roller mounted to move in an arc above the conveyor and articles thereon and engageable with the upper surfaces of the folded portions of the wrapper, means for folding the side portions of the wrapper over the folded portions, and soft, yieldable members engageable with the wrapped articles as the conveyor and articles are fed to hold the wrapper tight against the articles to accomplish the sealing thereof.

8. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor, means for folding front and rear portions of a wrapper over articles on said supporting members, yieldable,. resilient means of sponge rubber or like material for applying adhesive to said means including a roller mounted to move in an arc above 'the conveyor and articles thereon and engageable with the up per surfaces of the folded portions of the wrapper, means for folding the side portions of the wrapper over the folded portions, and soft, yieldable members of sponge rubber or like material engageable with the wrapped `articles as the conveyor and article are fed to hold the wrapper tight against the articles to accomplish the sealing thereof.

9. In a wrapping machine, an article support, folding mechanism comprising pivoted vbrackets at opposite edges of the article, flexible members on the brackets, yielding means for maintaining the flexible members taut, and means including resilient means' for moving the brackets and flexible vmembers over the edges and top of the article and article support. f

10. In a wrapping machine, a movable article support, means onv one edge of the support for folding a portion of a wrapper upwardly, means j movable toward and away from the opposite v edge' of the support for folding an oppositev portion of the wrapper upwardly, means engageable with said last named means for folding the portion engaged thereby downwardly against the top of the article, and means for folding the op posite portion of the wrapper down against the folded portion.

1l. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor, means for folding front and rear portions of a wrapper over articles on said supporting members. yieldable. resilient means for ,applying adhesive to the wrapper, said means including a roller mounted to move in an arc above the conveyor and articles thereon, in the direction of movement of the conveyor, and engageable with the upper surfaces of the folded portions of the wrapper, means for folding the side portions of the wrapper over the folded portions, and soft, yieldable members engageable with the wrapped articles as the conveyor and articles are fed to hold the wrapper tight against the articles to accomplish the sealing thereof. l

12. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor, means for folding front and rear portions of a wrapper over articles on said supporting members, yieldable, resilient means for applying adhesive to the wrapper, said means including a pair of rotatable cushioning rollers movable in 5 an arc into and out of engagement with the folded portions of the wrapper, means for folding the side portions of the wrapper over the folded portions, and soft, yieldable members engageable with the wrapped articles as the conveyor and l articles are fed to hold the wrapper tight against the articles to accomplish the sealing thereof.

13. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor, means for folding front and rear portions l of a Wrapper over articles on said supporting members, yieldable, resilient means of sponge rubber or like material for applying adhesive to the wrapper, said yieldable means being mounted above theA conveyor andv movable into and: out of engagement with the folded portions of the wrapper, means for folding the side portions of the wrapper over the folded portions, and soft, yieldable members of sponge rubber or like material engageable with the wrapped articles as the4 conveyor and article are fed to hold the wrapper tight against the articles to accomplish the sealing thereof.

14. In a wrapping machine, an article support, folding mechanism comprising pivoted brackets at opposite edges ofl the article, said brackets having angularly disposed surfaces arranged to extend over the sides and upper surfaces of the article and wrapper, flexible members on the brackets extending over said angularly disposed surfaces, yielding means for maintaining the flexible members taut, and means including resilent means for moving the brackets and flexible members over the edges and topl of the article and article support.

'15. In a. wrapping machine, a conveyor, a plurality of supporting members carried by the conveyor for supporting wrappers and articles during the wrapping operation, means for folding the front and rear portions of the wrapper over 45 stretched members carried by said folding mem- V bers for engaging and resiliently pressing the wrapper against the ends and top of the articles and folded portions of the wrapper, and means including resiliently actuated means for swinging said folding members upwardly and inwardly y toward each other to fold the wrapper against the sides and top of the article and folded portions of the wrapper.

16. In a wrapping machine, a conveyor, an article support carried thereby, means on one edge of the support for folding a portion of the wrapper upwardly, means carried by the conveyor and movable toward and away from the opposite edge of said support for folding an opposite portion of the wrapper upwardly, subsequently acting 85 means for folding said last named portion downwardly against the top of the article, and elastic cushioning members for folding said portions across the top of the article.

WILHELM B. BRONANDER.

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