US3345795A

US3345795A - Method and apparatus for packaging bars of plastic material

Info

Publication number: US3345795A
Application number: US368020A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ralph F Anderson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: SPX Flow Technology Systems Inc
Priority date: 1964-05-18
Filing date: 1964-05-18
Publication date: 1967-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1984-10-10

Description

Oct. 10,1967 R. F. ANDERSON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING BARS OF PLASTIC MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 18, 1964 Oct. 10,1967 A R. F. ANDERSON 3,345,795

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING BARS OF PLASTIC MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1964 United States Patent 3 345,795 I METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING BARS OF PLASTIC MATERIAL Ralph F. Anderson, 332 Calvin Park Blvd, Rockford, Ill. 61107 Filed May 18, 1964, Ser. No. 368,020 16 Claims. (CI. 5323) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE Ribbons of plastic material are extruded onto laterally spaced bottom portions of a strip of wrapping material, and portions of the wrapping material intermediate the bottom portions are folded upwardly between the ribbons while moving the bottom portions toward each other. End sections of the ribbons and strip of wrapping material are severed to form groups of bars, and a cover is applied over the top and along the sides of the group of bars.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for packaging plastic materials such as ice cream and the like, and to the wrapped article formed thereby.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved package and method and apparatus for producing the same wherein the plastic material is packaged in portions which are separated from each other by wrapping material and wherein subsequent unwrapping and serving of the portions is facilitated.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved package and method and apparatus for producing the same wherein the separate portions are wrapped and separated with a minimum amount of wrapping material. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for wrapping and separating portions of a'material in a semi-solid or plastic state, and which retains the shape of the portions during wrapping of the same.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for simultaneously wrapping a plurality of sidewise aligned portions in which a folded divider is formed between adjacent portions to facilitate subsequent separation of the portions.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a package and method and apparatus for producing the same in which a first wrapper underlies a plurality of sidewise aligned bars and has folded sections extending upwardly to separate the adjacent bars and'wherein a second wrapper overlies the several sidewise aligned bars and has edge sections that overlie the opposite edges of the bars to completely enclose the bars. I

These, together with other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings therein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are fragmentary perspective views illus trating different sections of a wrapping apparatus for packing plastic material;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary diagrammatic sectional view through the cutter mechanism, taken on the plane 4-4 of FIG. 2;

3,345,795 Patented Oct. 10, 1967 FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary transverse sectional views respectively taken on the planes 55, 66, and 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a wrapped article containing a plurality of separate bars, with parts broken away to illustrate details of the wrapper;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a package containing a plurality of wrapped articles arranged in rows;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the package taken on the plane 1010 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a wrapped article with the portions separated to facilitate serving.

The present invention is directed to the wrapping of portions of a plastic material such as ice cream to form wrapped articles of the type shown in FIG. 8. The wrapped articles are preferably accumulated and arranged in rows in a package, such as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In general, the wrapped article of FIG. 8 includes a plurality of bars B, herein shown three in number and disposed in sidewise aligned relations. A first wrapper designated W1 underlies and separates the adjacent bars from each other, which wrapper includes bottom sections 10 that underlie the bottoms of the respective bars and intermediate sections 11 which are folded upon themselves and extend upwardly between adjacent bars. In order to provide complete separation of adjacent bars, the center fold lines 12 of the intermediate sections 11 are preferably disposed at a level adjacent the upper face of the bars. The wrapper W1 also includes side sections 13 which extend upwardly from the bottom sections 10 along the edges of the outermost ones of the sidewise aligned bars. A second wrapper designated W2 overlies the top and the remaining side edges of the sidewise aligned bars. The second wrapper includes a continuou panel section 15 which extends across the upper surface of the sidewise aligned bars and depending side sections 16 which extend along side edges of the bars B. The second wrapper W2 completes the enclosure for the sidewise aligned bars and aids in retaining the sidewise aligned bars in close adjacency. When the wrapper W2 is removed,'the bars can be separated as shown in FIG. 11 to permit serving of the several bars in the wrapped article; or, alternatively, individual ones of the bars can be separated from the remaining bars along the fold line 12 in order to permit serving of individual bars.

In order to obtain high speed operation, it is desirable to wrap plastic materials such as ice cream and the like when it is in a semi-solid state as it comes directly from the continuous freezer, and to then complete the chilling and solidification of the plastic material after it has been wrapped; However, handling of the material in a semisolid state presents some problem, particularly in the matter of maintaining a desired shape in the semi-solid material being wrapped so that the final article will uniformly have the desired configuration.

In accordance with the present invention, portions of a plastic or semi-solid material such as ice cream are laterally spaced apart on a wrapper so that intermediate sections of the wrapper extend between adjacent portions. The intermediate sections of the wrapper are then folded or pleated while the portions are moved laterally toward each other so that the intermediate sections of the wrapper extend upwardly between adjacent portions to support and separate the portions from each other. The side 3 sections of the wrapper are preferably folded upwardly into overlying relation with the ends of the outermost portions to enclose and support the same. The portions are preferably initially spaced apart on the wrapper a distance approximately twice the height of the portions so that the intermediate sections of the wrapper, when folded upwardly, extend substantially the full height of the portions. A second wrapper is thereafter deposited on top of the sidewise aligned portions to span the same and cover the tops of the portions while holding the portions in close adjacency. The side edges of the second wrapper are preferably folded downwardly alongside the edges of the portion to cover the side edges and form a complete enclosure for the several sidewise aligned portions. Preferably, the portions are deposited on the wrapper by extruding continuous webs of material onto a continuous strip of Wrapping material and then severing sections of the webs and wrapping material to form sidewise aligned barsjoined by a wrapper.

The method of the present invention will be better understood from the following description of the apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings for practicing the method. The method and apparatus is particularly adapted for packaging of plastic material such as ice cream and the like and is herein specifically described in connection with ice cream, it being understood that it is also applicable for use with other plastic materials. The ice cream is preferably formed in a continuous freezer diagrammatically indicated at 25 in FIG. 1, and which continuous freezer feeds the ice cream through a conduit 26 to a dispensing head 27. The dispensing head is arranged to deposit a plurality of portions of the material at laterally spaced locations on a wrapper and for this purpose the head is preferably formed with a plurality of outlet openings or nozzles (not shown) which are spaced apart to extrude laterally separated ribbon-like webs of material, herein shown three in number and designated A1, A2, and A3. The wrapper, designated generally by the letter W, is preferably in the form of a continuous strip which is advanced past the nozzle so that the webs of material are laterally spaced apart as they are deposited on the wrapper. A conveyor means is provided for advancing the wrapper past the nozzle and, in the embodiment illustrated, the conveyor means is of the endless belt type including a belt 32 which is entrained over end pulleys 33 and 34 (FIGS. 1 and 2). A roll R of the wrapping material W is supported on supports 36 adjacent one end of the conveyor 31 and, as shown, is entrained under an idler roller 37 which maintains the wrapper in engagement with conveyor 31 to be advanced thereby. The wrapper is preferably scored to facilitate folding of the wrapper after the plastic material is deposited thereon and, in the embodiment shown, the scoring is achieved in several steps. A first set of scoring cutters 39A-39F are mounted as on a cross shaft 41 to overlie the upper side of the strip. The cutters 39A-39F cooperate with a support 42 at the underside of the strip to produce spaced rows of perforations in the top of the strip at the juncture between each of the aforementioned bottom sections 10, side section 13 and intermediate sections 11 of the wrapper strip. A secnd set of perforating cutters designated 43a and 43b are mounted, as on a cross shaft 44 to engage the underside of the wrapper. The scoring cutters 43a and 43b are positioned with relation to the wrapper and to the cutters 39a-39f to perforate and weaken the wrapper along the medial fold line 12 of the intermediate portions 11. As shown in FIG. 1, a support 46 overlies the top of the wrapper adjacent the scoring cutters 43a and 43b to press the wrapper into engagement therewith. A drive roll 47 preferably overlies the wrapper in advance of the scoring cutters 43a and 43b to aid in advancing the wrapper strip and to press the wrapper strip firmly against the cutters. In order to facilitate separation of end sections of the extruding web and wrapper, to form individual bars, the wrapper is also preferably cut and serrated at longitudinally spaced points therealong corresponding to the length of the bars to be subsequently formed. As shown in FIG. 1, this is conveniently achieved by crosswise cutting and scoring rollers designated 51 and 52. As shown, cutter blades 53 are provided on the roller 51 to extend crosswise of the wrapper and the rollers 51 and 52 are driven in timed relations through mechanism (not shown) so that blades on roller 51 register with slots 54 in the roller 52, as the rollers rotate. Preferably, the blades 53 are formed with cutter sections 53 and serrated sections 53". The cutter sections are arranged to out completely through the wrapper in the areas corresponding to the intermediate sections 11 and side sections 13 thereof, and the perforating portion 53" of the cutter are arranged to perforate the bottom sections 10 of the wrapper. The cutting rollers 51 and 52 and the drive rollers 47 are driven in timed relation with the movement of the conveyor 31, by a suitable mechanism (not shown).

The scored wrapper W is advanced past the nozzle head 27 and the webs A1A3 of material are deposited on the wrapper at laterally spaced points to overlie the bottom section 10 of the wrapper. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate sections 11 of the wrapper extend between the webs A1-A3, and the side sections 13 extend laterally from the outer sides of the web. The intermediate sections 11 of the wrapper are then folded upwardly and the webs A1-A3 are simultaneously moved toward each other so that the intermediate sections extend upwardly between the adjacent webs. For this purpose,

intermediate guides

61 and 62 are provided and arranged to engage the intermediate sections of wrapper as it is advanced thereby to fold the intermediate section upwardly and pleat the same. The intermediate guides 61 and 62 progressively increase in height from their

inlet end

61, 62 to their outlet ends 61", 62". In addition, the upward folding of the intermediate sections tends to draw the webs A1 and A3 laterally toward the intermediate web and the guides are accordingly arranged to converge towards each other. Thus, the inlet ends 61, 62 of the intermediate guides are positioned to engage the respective intermediate fold line 12, when the wrapper is flat while the outlet ends 61", 62" are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of the intermediate web A2. The intermediate guides thus guide the intermediate sections of the wrapper upwardly and inwardly. Outer guides 63 are provided for guiding the side sections 13 of the wrapper upwardly and inwardly into over-lying relation with the outer edges of the webs A1 and A3, and to also guide these webs laterally inwardly toward each other. The outer guides 63 include plough-shaped inlet section 63" arranged to progressively guide the side sections 13 of the wrapper upwardly and inwardly into overlying relation with the outer edges of the webs A1 and A3 as the wrapper is advanced. The outer guides converge towards each other at the outlet ends 63" to guide the webs A1 and A3 laterally inwardly toward the central web A2. With this arrangement it will been seen that the wrappers are progressively folded upwardly between adjacent webs and also at the outer sides of the outermost webs to form channels. These channels not only confine the plastic ice cream and prevent the ice cream from contacting the conveyor mechanism, but also will function to reshape the webs into a generally rectangular configuration, in the event the plastic material forming the webs is so soft as to begin plastic flow.

End sections of the web and underlying wrapper are severed to form bars of material. The web and wrapper can be severed to form individual bars prior to folding of the intermediate sections of the wrapper, but are preferably severed after the webs have been moved into close adjacency, as shown in FIG. 2. Any suitable cutter mechanisms may be provided for severing end sections of the web and wrapper and, in the embodiment illustrated, a cutter mechanism of known construction is provided and includes a cutter blade 65 mounted for movement in a direction crosswise of the webs and wrapper, to sever bars from the webs and also in a direction lengthwise of the webs so as to move with the webs and avoid deformation of the webs and wrapper during the cutting. As shown in FIG. 2, the cutter blade 65 is mounted by slides 66 on slide brackets 66' for horizontal movement relative to the slide brackets a direction lengthwise of the webs A1A3, and the slide brackets are supported on rods 67 for limited vertical movement. A cutter drive mechanism 69, of known construction, is operatively connected to the cutter 65 through

drive links

71 and 72 to respectively move the cutter crosswise of the web and also lengthwise of the webs. The drive links .71 and 72 are operated in timed relation with each other to sequentially move the cutter downwardly and in the directional movement of the webs, and then retract the cutter and move it in a direction opposite the directional movement of the webs to its initial position, as diagrammatically indicated in FIG. 4.

The bars and material B which are severed from the webs A1-A3 are thus disposed in side-by-side alignment and are enclosed at the bottom and opposite edges thereof by the wrapper W1. A second wrapper W2 is applied to the tops of the sidewise aligned bars to complete the wrapping of the same. Preferably, the severed bars B are advanced by the longitudinal movement of the cutter past the conveyor 31 across a stacking platform 79 and onto a cross conveyor 81. The cross conveyor herein shown is of the endless type and includes article support and guide rails 82 and an endless type conveyor 80 having spaced fingers 80a arranged to engage the sidewise aligned bars and advance the same in a direction crosswise of the folded intermediate sections 11 of the wrapper. The wrapper W2 can also conveniently be formed from a strip S which is advanced between upper and lower feed rolls 83 and 84, in timed relation with the movement of the cross-conveyor. The strip S is preferably longitudinally scored or weakened as shown in FIG. 4 by scoring cutters 85a and 8512 at spaced points corresponding to the length of the individual bars B to define the aforedescribed intermediate section and side sections 16 of the wrapper W2. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 2, the scoring cutters underlie the strip of wrapping material S and cooperate with a support that overlies the strip to form the spaced rows of perforations. End sections of the strip S, corresponding in length to the combined overall width of the sidewise aligned bars B, are thereafter severed from the strip as by a cutter mechanism designated generally by the numeral 87. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 3, the cutter mechanism 87 includes relatively

movable cutter blades

88 and 89 which move crosswise of the strips to sever end sections from the strip. The partially wrapped bars B are advanced from the cross conveyor 92. The end conveyor 92 is positioned below the

cutter blades

88 and 89 and has fingers 93 which are arranged to engage the partially wrapped bars and the wrapper W2 to longitudially position the wrapper W2 with respect to the partially wrapped bars. The bars and the wrapper W2 are then advanced together by the fingers 93 on the outlet conveyor past pressing and folding fingers 94 and 95 which press the upper portion 15 and the side portions 16 of the second wrapper respectively into engagement with the tops and ends of the bars V. The wrapper W2 thus completes the enclosure for the bars and, moreover, spans the sidewise aligned bars to aid in holding the bars in close adjacency.

The enwrapped bars are then preferably packaged, either by hand or by suitable mechanism (not shown) into packages of'the type generally shown in FIGS; 9 and 10 and designated generally by the numeral 95. As shown the packages in the form of a rectangular box having a bottom 96, spaced sides 97, and ends 98 and a cover 99 hinged to one side edge. The enwrapped articles may be stacked into the formed box or, alternatively, the'box can be formed around the stack of articles. As shown, the articles composed of three bars each are arranged two to each layer and are stacked three layers deep, it being understood that the number of articles in each layer and the ticle in such a manner that only one layer of wrapping material overlies each face of the bars. Thus, the bars are wrapped with a minimum amount of material and in such a manner that the rectangular configuration of the plastic material is maintained even if the material is not sufficiently hard to he form sustaining. The wrapped articles consisting of plural bars are then stacked and packaged. The packaged articles, in the case of ice cream and the like, is then refrigerated to solidify the plastic material into a relatively hard condition. The individual bars, after hardening, can be readily detached from adjacent bars along the fold lines 12 or, alternatively, the wrapper W2 can be removed and the end sections 13 of the wrapper drawn outwardly to separate the bars as shown in FIG. 11, to facilitate serving of the same.

I claim:

1. A method of juxtaposing and wrapping bars of a plastic material including the steps of laterally spacing a plurality of portions of plastic material on laterally spaced bottom sections of a wrapper with an intermediate section of the wrapper extending between adjacent laterally spaced bottom sections, maintaining the bottom sections substantially horizontal and folding the intermediate section upwardly at a midpoint between the bottom sections into a downwardly opening V-shaped pleat connected along fold lines to the adjacent bottom sections while moving the bottom sections and portions thereon laterally toward each other into close adjacency whereby the intermediate section moves alongside the adjacent faces of laterally adjacent portions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the intermediate section is weakened at said midpoint prior to folding to facilitate folding and subsequent separation of the wrapper at said midpoint.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the wrapper is in the form of a generally continuous strip and is advanced lengthwise and the portions of plastic material are extruded and deposited on the laterally spaced bottom sections of the strip of wrapping material in the form of generally continuous laterally spaced Webs, and the webs and strip of wrapping material are severed in a direction crosswise of the webs to form bars of material after the webs are deposited on the strip of wrapping material.v

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the webs and strip of wrapping material are severed after the portions are moved laterally into close adjacency.

5. The method of juxtaposing and wrapping bars of a plastic material including the steps of laterally spacing at plurality of portions of plastic material on a wrapper inwardly of the lateral side edges of a wrapper whereby an intermediate section of the wrapper extends between adjacent portions and an outer section of the wrapper extends laterally from the outermost portions, folding the intermediate section upwardly at a midpoint between the adjacent portions while moving the portions laterally toward each other into close adjacency whereby the intercent side faces of the adjacent portions, and thereafter applying a wrapper piece over the top of the bars to span laterally adjacent bars after they have been moved into close adjacency.

6. The method of juxtaposing and wrapping bars of a plastic material including the steps of laterally spacing a plurality of portions of plastic material on a wrapper inwardly of the lateral side edges of a wrapper whereby an intermediate section of the wrapper extends between adjacent portions and an outer section of the wrapper extends laterally from the outermost portions, folding the intermediatesection upwardly at a midpoint between the adjacent portions while moving the portions laterally toward each other into close adjacency whereby the intermediate section moves into overlying relation to the adjacent side faces of the adjacent portions, and thereafter folding a second wrapper over the top and over the edges of said portions that extend transverse to said adjacent side faces.

7. The method of juxtaposing and wrapping bars of a plastic material including the steps of laterally spacing a plurality of portions of plastic material on a wrapper inwardly of the lateral side edges of a wrapper whereby an intermediate section of the wrapper extends between adjacent portions and an outer section of the Wrapper extends laterally from the outermost portions, folding the intermediate section upwardly at a midpoint between the adjacent portions while moving the portions laterally toward each other into close adjacency whereby the intermediate section moves into overlying relation to the adjacent side faces of the adjacent portions, folding the outer sections upwardly over the outer side faces of the outermost ones of said portions on the wrapper, and folding a second wrapper over the top and over the edges of said portions that extend transverse to said side faces.

8. A method of juxtaposing and wrapping bars of a plastic material comprising, extruding a plurality of ribbon-like webs of plastic material and depositing the webs on laterally spaced bottom sections of a wrapper with the webs laterally spaced apart and with intermediate sections of the wrapper between adjacent laterally spaced bottom sections, maintaining the bottom sections substantially horizontal and folding the intermediate sections upwardly at a midpoint between the adjacent webs into a downwardly opening V-shaped pleat connected along fold lines to the adjacent bottom sections while moving the webs laterally toward each other into close adjacency whereby the intermediate sections overlie the adjacent side faces of the webs, and producing crosswise severances in the plural webs and the underlying wrapper at spaced points along the webs after the webs have been deposited on the wrapper to form lateraly aligned bars of material having said intermediae sections of the wrapper extending therebetween.

9. A method of juxtaposing and wrapping bars of a plastic material comprising, extruding a plurality of ribbon-like webs of plastic material and depositing the webs on a Wrapper with the webs laterally spaced apart, and intermediate sections of the Wrapper between adjacent webs, folding the intermediate sections upwardly at a midpoint between the adjacent webs while moving the webs laterally toward each other into close adjacency whereby the intermediate sections overlie the adjacent side faces of the webs, and producing crosswise severances in the plural webs and the underlying wrapper at spaced points along the webs after the webs have been deposited on the wrapper to form laterally aligned bars of material having said intermediate sections of the wrapper extending therebetween, and applying a second wrapper over the top of the bars to span laterally adjacent bars after the webs have been moved into close adjacency.

10. An apparatus for packaging bars of plastic material comprising, means for supporting and advancing a wrapper along a path, means for depositing a plurality of portions of plastic material On the wrapper with the portions laterally spaced apart to have an intermediate section of the wrapper extend between adjacent portions, and means for folding the intermediate sections upwardly at a midpoint between the sections and for moving the portions laterally toward each other as the wrapper is advanced along said path whereby the intermediate sections move alongside the adjacent faces of laterally adjacent portions, and means for applying a second wrapper to the top of the portions after the portions have been moved laterally adjacent to each other.

11. An apparatus for packaging bars of plastic material comprising, means for supporting and advancing a strip of wrapping material along a path lengthwise of the strip, means-including laterally spaced nozzles for extruding ribbon-like webs of material into the strip of wrapping material with the webs laterally spaced apart to have intermediate sect-ions of the strip extend between adjacent webs, means for folding the intermediate sections upwardly at a midpoint between the webs and for moving the webs laterally toward each other whereby the intermediate section moves alongside the adjacent faces of laterally adjacent portions, and means for severing end sections from the plural webs and the underlying wrapper to form laterally aligned bars of material with portions of said intermediate section of the wrapper strip disposed between laterally aligned bars and connecting the same, means for advancing the severed end sections along a path generally paralleling the severance line on the bars, and means for applying a second wrapper to the tops of the portions and for folding the second wrapper against the end faces of the bars as the bars are advanced along said last mentioned path.

12. A method of forming wrapped bars of a plastic material comprising, continuously advancing in a lengthwise direction a strip of wrapping material having laterally spaced lengthwise extending bottom forming sections and lengthwise extending intermediate sections between and connected to adjacent laterally spaced bottom forming sections, producing crosswise cuts in the intermediate sections of the strip at spaced points therealong to at least substantially sever the intermediate sections while leaving the bottom forming sections at least partially continuous, thereafter folding the intermediate sections upwardly at a midpoint between adjacent bottom forming sections into downwardly opening V-shaped pleats while moving the bottom forming sections laterally toward each other into close adjacency, extruding ribbonlike webs of material onto said bottom sections as the strip of wrapping material is adavnced, and severing the several webs of material and the bottom sections of the strip of wrapping material at said spaced points along the length of the strip to form laterally aligned groups of bars having said intermediate sections of the wrapper extending therebetween.

13. An apparatus for packaging bars of plastic material comprising, means for supporting and advancing in a lengthwise direction a strip of wrapping material having laterally spaced lengthwise extending bottom forming sections and lengthwise extending intermediate sections between and connected to adjacent laterally spaced sections, a first cutter means for producing crosswise cuts in the intermediate sections of the strip at spaced points therealong to at least substantially sever the intermediate sections while leaving the bottom forming sections at least partially continuous, means spaced in one direction of advance of the strip from said first cutter means for folding the intermediate sections upwardly at a midpoint between adjacent bottom forming sections into downwardly opening V-shaped pleats while moving the bottom forming sections laterally toward each other into close adjacency, means for extruding ribbon-like webs of material onto said bottom sections as the strip of wrappingmaterial is advanced, and a second cutter means spaced from the first cutter means in the direction of advance of the strip for severing the several webs of material and said bottom sections of the strip of material at said spaced points along the length of the strip to form a group of laterally aligned bars of material having said intermediate sections of the wrapper extending therebetween.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13 including means for scoring the strip along opposite edges of each intermediate section and along lines medially between the edges of each intermediate section to facilitate folding of the intermediate sections.

15. An apparatus according to claim 13 including means disposed above the strip for scoring the strip 9 along opposite edges of each intermediate section and means disposed below the strip for s-cOr-ing the same along lines medially between the edges of each intermediate section to facilitate molding of the intermediate sections.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13 including means for applying a channel shaped wrapper to each group of laterally aligned bars to have the wrapper overlie the tops and ends of the bars in each group.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,342 11/1931 Stokes 5326 Vogt 53122 X Con-tos et a1. 53--26 Goodwin 53122 X Rumsey 5326 Rebechini 5323 Vogt 5321 Anderson et al 53--l22 MacLellan et al. 5321 X Griner et a1. 5326 0 TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner.

FRANK E. BAILEY, Examiner.

L. S. BOUCHARD, R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiners.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,345,795 October 10, 1967 Ralph F. Anderson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 6, line 62, after "inter-" insert mediate section moves into overl ing relation to the 'adjacolumn 7, line 39, for "lateraly" read laterally line 40, for "intermediae" read intermediate column 9, line 4, for "molding" read folding Signed and sealed this 29th day of October 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents Edward M. Fletcher, J r.

Attesting Officer

Claims

5. THE METHOD OF JUXTAPOSING AND WRAPPING BARS OF A PLASTIC MATERIAL INCLUDING THE STEPS OF LATERALLY SPACING A PLURALITY OF PORTIONS OF PLASTIC MATERIAL ON A WRAPPER INWARDLY OF THE LATERAL SIDE EDGES OF A WRAPPER WHEREBY AN INTERMEDIATE SECTION OF THE WRAPPER EXTENDS BETWEEN ADJACENT PORTIONS AND AN OUTER SECTION OF THE WRAPPER EXTENDS LATERALLY FROM THE OUTERMOST PORTIONS, FOLDING THE INTERMEDIATE SECTION UPWARDLY AT A MIDPOINT BETWEEN THE ADJACENT PORTIONS WHILE MOVING THE PORTIONS LATERALLY TOWARD EACH OTHER INTO CLOSE ADJACENCY WHEREBY THE INTERCENT SIDE FACES OF THE ADJACENT PORTIONS, AND THEREAFTER APPLYING A WRAPPER PIECE OVER THE TOP OF THE BARS TO SPAN LATERALLY ADJACENT BARS AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN MOVED INTO CLOSE ADJACENCY.