Patent ID: 6324817
Filing Date: 2001-12-04
Classification: B65B

Abstract:
A method of wrapping, in a sheet of wrapping material, an elongated, substantially parallelepiped product having two opposite longitudinal end bases, the method comprising the steps of feeding said product to a conveyor head; engaging the end bases of the product by said conveyor head; feeding said conveyor head and said product continuously by a conveyor, along a wrapping path and through a supply station while keeping said bases parallel to the wrapping path, said conveyor comprising a wheel and a plurality of conveyor heads on said wheel; supplying said sheet of wrapping material transversely to the wrapping path, engaging said sheet of material at the same time by said conveyor head and by said product; and, moving said conveyor head with respect to said wheel along said wrapping path so that said sheet of wrapping material is folded by at least one passive wrapping fixture to form, about the product and with said sheet of wrapping material, a tubular wrapping at least partly enclosing said conveyor head, wherein said wrapping path comprises a first and a second portion in series in a traveling direction of said conveyor head; said sheet of wrapping material being folded into a U about the product and about at least part of said conveyor head along said first portion of the wrapping path, and being further folded and then stabilized along said second portion of the wrapping path to obtain said tubular wrapping; said passive wrapping fixture being located along said second portion of the wrapping path.