Patent ID: 7140160
Filing Date: 2006-11-28
Classification: A22C,B65B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A system for attaching closure clips to elongate or tubular products held in casing materials, comprising: a curvilinear clip rail having opposing top and bottom end portions and defining a generally downwardly extending clip feed direction; a clip entry window in communication with the bottom end portion of the clip rail and a clip closure delivery path in communication with an attachment mechanism that is adapted to wrap a clip about a target tubular work piece; a clip pusher configured to selectively engage with clips held on the clip rail to force the clips in the feed direction; and a clip retraction assembly configured to selectively engage with clips held on the clip rail to force the clips away from the clip window and away from the clip feed direction, whereby the system is configured to successively enclose articles in packaging material, and wherein, in operation, the clip pusher automatically forces a plurality of clips to travel in the clip feed direction along the clip rail toward the clip closure delivery path, the clip retraction assembly automatically and forcibly retracts the plurality of clips so that the clips travel in a reverse direction along the clip rail, and the clip pusher then automatically forces the plurality of clips to again travel in the forward direction along the clip rail toward the clip closure delivery path to thereby successively package the articles.