Patent ID: 6855047
Filing Date: 2005-02-15
Classification: A22C

Abstract:
1. A packing mechanism for arranging suspended elongated product on a carrier member, comprising: an elongated packing arm having an associated length and opposing first and second end portions, said first end portion comprising a contact member that has spaced apart first and second fingers, wherein, in operation, the contact member is adapted to periodically contact a portion of a suspended elongated item held on a carrier member to cause adjacent portions of the suspended elongated item to move closer together on the carrier member; and a drive mechanism attached to the second end portion of the packing arm and configured to repeatedly move the packing arm in a predetermined motion so that the contact member serially moves in a cycle that includes moving in a first longitudinal direction, descending a desired vertical distance sufficient to cause the contact member to engage the carrier member, moving in a second longitudinal direction opposite the first longitudinal direction with the contact member substantially horizontal an parallel to the orientation of the carrier member, then rising a distance to reside above the carrier member.