Abstract:
The present invention provides an apparatus and a method to produce magazines, books, catalogues, brochures, periodicals, or the like on a collation or binding line, transport these products in a single stream of products towards a packaging line, divide the single stream of products into distinct streams of products where one such stream comprises products requiring wrapping and another such stream comprises products which do not require wrapping, transport the products requiring wrapping to a wrapping machine and sending these products through a wrapping process, transport the products that do not require wrapping around the wrapping machine, and merge the separate streams of products back into a single stream of products such that the products are arranged in a predetermined output order, such as demographic order.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates, generally, to an apparatus and a method for wrapping selected products found in a stream of a plurality of products. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method which combines a binding or stitching operation and a wrapping operation into a single operation which divides the stream of products into at least two additional streams of products, i.e., a stream of products to be wrapped and a stream of products not to be wrapped, whereafter the divided streams of products are merged again into a single stream of products in a desired output order, such as demographic order.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    During the processing of magazines, newspapers, books, periodicals or other sheet material products or articles, it is sometimes desirable to wrap selected articles with, for example, paper or conventional band wrapping or plastic film which may be a polymeric or polyethylene plastic film. There are many different reasons for selectively wrapping certain articles from a series of articles. This flexibility is important in satisfying the demands of a particular market or geographical destination. For instance, it may be desirable to offer certain customers or subscribers various features or selected advertising depending upon their special interest, income or occupation. Likewise, it may be relevant to customize products or services contingent upon a customer&#39;s previous buying history. For example, a publication may issue one demo edition for parents of newborn children who have previously purchased baby products, another edition for farmers interested in the latest agricultural equipment and still another edition for recent purchasers of exercise equipment. In each situation, a publisher may utilize various modes of customization such as blown-in card feeding, invoicing, advertising material insertion, renewal notices and tipping, as well as several types of contact or contactless printing. As a result, it is usually desirable to wrap the products including one or more of these items in order to enclose such loose items.  
           [0003]    It is generally understood that magazines or other products can be packaged in such a way so as to take maximum advantage of postal discounts. For example, grouping a certain number of products and sending these products to subscribers having a common five-digit zip code in the same carrier route, qualifies the packages for a lower postal rate thereby saving the publisher money. Therefore, it is preferred that a bindery output articles in an order that facilitates sorting and packaging to maximize postal discounts.  
           [0004]    Currently, collation and binding (conveyor) lines for stitchers build magazines, catalogues, brochures, periodicals, etc. in an order that facilitates sorting and packaging so as to receive such postal discounts. Each product binding line typically comprises an inserter having a plurality of signature feeders, a collating chain or conveyor, a customizing station, a stitcher, a trimmer, a labeling station, a bad book conveyor, a stacker and a strapper, as known to those skilled in the art. Once products are assembled and packaged in a desired order, the products are typically delivered to a Post Office for continued delivery to their final destination. So as not to create a slowdown in the overall production of the products, wrapping lines are generally separate and apart from binding lines. As previously pointed out, it is sometimes desirable to customize products with certain advertising or promotional material. It is also sometimes desirable to preserve the appearance of products. Customizing certain products with additional material or protecting certain products from damage requires that these products be wrapped with a protective wrapping. Wrapping machines conventionally apply a transparent polywrap material or paper wrap material or band wrap material around each individual product sent through a respective wrapping line. Like the binding lines, the wrapping lines output the products in an order that facilitates sorting and packaging so as to also enable certain postal discounts.  
           [0005]    One problem with separate and distinct binding and wrapping lines is that bundles of products produced by each separate line are delivered to the appropriate Post Office and these bundles typically have overlapping zip codes thereby not fully utilizing the overall savings that could be realized through postal discounts. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide an apparatus and a method which are capable of combining a binding line and a wrapping line so as to maximize postal discounts by eliminating such overlapping zip codes. However, because the production processes between a binding line and a wrapping line are not generally compatible, combining these two systems into a single system has heretofore been difficult to accomplish. As a result, bundles from binding lines and wrapping lines are often manually combined together to eliminate overlapping zip codes. However, this manual operation is generally unacceptable because any postal discounts achieved by packaging the products according to matching zip codes are outweighed by the expenses associated with the manual labor needed to organize the bundles.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    Accordingly, the present invention provides the advantage of conveniently and efficiently combining a binding line with a wrapping line to eliminate the need for separate and distinct binding and wrapping operations thereby reducing manufacturing and labor costs while at the same time maximizing postal discounts. The present invention also provides an apparatus and a method which offer a greater degree of product customization. Further, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method which selectively wrap individual products found in a stream of products and yet are also capable of combining the wrapped and unwrapped products into a desired output so as to maximize postal discounts.  
           [0007]    In one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for wrapping selected products of a plurality of products. The products are assembled on a conveyor line according to coded information. The plurality of products continuously moves in a stream of products toward a packaging assembly which is operatively connected to the conveyor line. A deflecting device positioned along the stream of products divides the stream of products into at least two additional streams of products. The present invention contemplates selectively diverting certain products according to coded information either to a wrapping line where products are wrapped or to a non-wrapping line where products are not wrapped. The present invention further contemplates merging the wrapped products and non-wrapped products in another conveyor line according to a predetermined output order whereafter the stream of products is delivered to packaging equipment before shipment to a Post Office.  
           [0008]    The present invention may be further characterized in that a control system is adapted to receive coded information of each product to be produced prior to the start of the manufacturing process. The control system processes the coded information to determine which products of the plurality of products require wrapping. Based on the desired final demographic output order and based upon the information as to which products out of the plurality of products require wrapping, the control system determines the order of assembly for each of the plurality of products. The control system then communicates with the appropriate components of the binding operation and the packaging operation in order to ensure that the proper output order of products is obtained.  
           [0009]    The present invention may also be characterized in that the wrapping line comprises a pre-buffer zone, a wrapping device and a post-buffer zone. The deflecting device moves the selected products to be wrapped to the pre-buffer zone of the wrapping line. A predetermined number of products are collected in the pre-buffer zone before such products are delivered to the wrapping device. According to one aspect of the present invention, products to be wrapped are continuously fed to the wrapping device so as to improve the overall operation of the wrapping device. The pre-buffer zone is adapted to collect and feed products to the wrapping device to ensure a continuous translation of products to be wrapped. The post-buffer zone collects the wrapped products prior to delivering the wrapped products to a further destination.  
           [0010]    According to another aspect of the present invention, the wrapping line is designed to feed wrapped products to a downstream conveyor line such that the wrapped products merge or commingle with the unwrapped products which were diverted into the non- wrapping line. In this manner, the present invention allows wrapped products to join up with non-wrapped products to output a predetermined order of the products.  
           [0011]    The present invention also relates to a method for selectively wrapping certain products of a stream of products according to coded information. The method includes inputting coded information into a control system which processes the information to determine which products require wrapping. The method further includes generating an order of assembly for the products taking into account the filling of the pre and post-buffer zones such that the output of the products will be in a desired order, such as demographic order. The method also includes continuously moving the stream of products along a first path and dividing the stream of products into at least two additional streams of products, one containing those products to be wrapped and the other containing those products not to be wrapped. The method incorporates a manner of merging the two additional streams of products back into a combined stream whereby the products are arranged in the predetermined output order as originally inputted to the control system.  
           [0012]    It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method which contain the features and advantages set forth herein and which are much simpler in design.  
           [0013]    It is another feature of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method which improve the customizing capability for high speed demographic binders and wrappers. Specifically, according to the present invention, prior separate binding and wrapping operations can now be combined into a single processing operation which allows for selective wrapping of certain products and an output of products which contains wrapped and unwrapped products and, yet, which also maximizes postal discounts.  
           [0014]    It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which allow for selective wrapping of products from a plurality of products and which are particularly versatile and capable of improving existing systems.  
       
    
    
       [0015]    Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings in which like numerals are used to designate like features.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a top elevational view of a processing line for practicing a method embodying the present invention.  
         [0017]    FIGS.  2 - 6  are flow charts illustrating the selective wrapping process embodying the present invention. 
     
    
       [0018]    Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The use of “consisting of” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof. The use of letters to identify steps of a method or process is simply for identification and is not meant to indicate that the steps should be performed in a particular order.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]    Illustrated in FIG. 1 is an in-line processing system  10  according to the present invention for processing products or articles which may include newspapers, magazines, books or the like. The processing system  10  includes a stitcher controller or assembly controller  12 , an assembly line  14 , a binder or stitcher  16 , a trimmer  18 , a gripper conveyor  20  which conveys products from the trimmer  18  to an in-feed conveyor  22  or a drop table  24 , a wrapping assembly  26  which includes a pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28 , a wrapper  30 , a post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32 , and a wrapper controller  34 , a wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  which conveys selected products from the in-feed conveyor  22  to a mail table  38 , and further processing equipment such as packaging equipment  40 . Various inkjet units, printer feeders, feeder pockets and product diverters may be positioned at various places along the processing system  10  as needed and/or as desired as will be further discussed below. The processing system  10  according to the present invention combines an assembly operation  42  with a packaging operation  44  in a single in-line processing system  10  which provides an output stream of products destined for delivery to, for example, a United States Post Office.  
         [0020]    A feature of the system  10  is the system&#39;s capability to individually wrap selected products. A product may be individually wrapped if, for example, the product such as a magazine is the first issue going to a customer or subscriber and an invoice is to be included in the wrapping. Other products may not have to include an invoice and, therefore, they would not have to be wrapped. If a product is not to be wrapped, the product is picked up by the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  which bypasses the wrapping assembly  26  and drops the products off at the mail table  38 . Those products that are intended to be wrapped are sent on to the wrapping assembly  26 . The products to be wrapped are held in the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  until a predetermined sufficient number of products have been collected. After a certain number of products have been accumulated in the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28 , the products are passed to the wrapper  30  for individual wrapping. After the products are wrapped, the products are transported to the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32 . The products are then held within the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  until such time as the a products join up and merge with the bypassed products traveling along the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  at the mail table  38  in order to produce the desired output order. A feature of the present invention is to allow selective wrapping of certain products and output a combined desired order of wrapped and non-wrapped products.  
         [0021]    To further illustrate the present invention, the invention will now be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIGS.  2 - 6  in conjunction with the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. Any reference to a piece of equipment in the processing system  10  will be shown in FIG. 1. Any reference to a Box will correspond to a process step found in the flow chart depicted in FIGS.  2 - 6 .  
         [0022]    To begin, a label file, comprising, for example, subscriber names, codes, addresses, messages, etc., is downloaded or inputted to the stitcher controller  12  (Box  46 ). The label file includes information which corresponds to each particular article or product of a set of products to be processed by the system  10 . Generally, the label file includes: coded information (a product build descriptor) designating the particular feeders to be activated along the binding line  14  to build each product (i.e., the particular component signatures of the product); indicia of the identity and address of the subscriber for which each product is being assembled; and customization information, e.g., a particular message to be printed in each product, actuation indicia for a card inserter, an application device or the like. Such customization information may also include a coded designation (product selection control field) identifying products for which customized packaging is to be effected, e.g., the particular onsert dispensing units to be actuated, and when printers or inkjet units are to be employed.  
         [0023]    The inputted label file is referred to as the original label file. The label file is downloaded to the stitcher controller  12  in a particular order which preferably represents the desired output order of the products to be processed by the system  10 . In other words, the products can be received by the mail table  38  and sent on to the packaging equipment  40  according to the order set forth in the original label file. The label file may be downloaded to the stitcher controller  12  in any number of proven ways such as, for instance, a magnetic tape or diskette or through any other known electronic means. Importantly, the label file includes an identifier for each product that requires wrapping. The stitcher controller  12  may be any type of suitable controller commonly known to those skilled in the art, such as an FCS 1000 or an FCS 2000 inkjet controller from Quad/Tech, Inc., of Sussex, Wis., which is particularly suited for use according to the present invention.  
         [0024]    After the stitcher controller  12  receives the original label file, the wrapper controller  34  scans the original label file searching for the wrapper identifiers in order to determine which products require wrapping. The wrapper controller  34  may also be any type of suitable controller commonly known to those skilled in the art. However, the controllers identified above and available from Quad/Tech are particularly suited for use according to the subject invention. The stitcher controller  12  and the wrapper controller  34  should be capable of electronically communicating with each other. As the wrapper controller  34  scans the original label file found within the stitcher controller  12 , the wrapper controller  34  creates a sister label file (Box  48 ). The sister label file contains the information for those products from the original label file that are intended to be wrapped.  
         [0025]    After the wrapper controller  34  generates the sister label file, the wrapper controller  34  also generates a running file which sequentially lists the order of the products as they will be assembled in the assembly line  14  (Box  50 ). As will be further explained below, the running file takes into account the accumulation of the products in the pre and post-buffer zones. Thus, preferably, the order of the products in the running file does not correlate with the order of the products in the original label file. Once the running file is generated and the wrapper controller  34  communicates with the stitcher controller  12 , the manufacturing process begins (Box  52 ).  
         [0026]    The stitcher controller  12  controls the assembly process of the individual products as the products travel through the assembly operation  42 . The first part of the manufacturing process includes assembling the products in the assembly line  14  which is made up of a collation line and/or a binding line as shown in FIG. 1. The products are assembled in the assembly line  14  according to the order set forth in the running file.  
         [0027]    One or more printer feeders  54  may be positioned along the assembly line  14  in order to selectively feed inserts/onserts such as invoices, promotional material etc. within selected products or magazines as is well known in the art. One or more inkjet units or printers  56  may also be positioned along the assembly line  14  to selectively print on individual signatures as the signatures travel past the inkjet units  56  as is also well known in the art. Data from the original label file will identify which products receive inserts/onserts or selective printing. The stitcher controller  12  will electronically communicate with the printer feeders  54  and/or inkjet units  56  and/or other similar devices to identify when selective inserting/onserting or printing is desired for a given product being assembled.  
         [0028]    After individual signatures are assembled into collated products, the products are bound by a binder or stitcher  16 . Once bound, the individual products are sent through the trimmer  18 . As generally understood by those skilled in the art, the trimmer  18  functions to trim or cut excessive material from each product and attempts to square one page of the product to the next.  
         [0029]    After the trimmer  18 , a sensor assembly  59  is properly positioned at or around reference numeral  60  so as to determine if each product is acceptable to continue on through the processing system  10  (Box  62 ). The sensor of the sensor assembly, also called a short book eye, may be an electronic sensor, an infra-red sensor or any other type of sensor in which, preferably, an emitter and a receiver are utilized. If after being trimmed, a product is not properly squared or is too short or is too long for example, the sensor assembly  59  will indicate that the product is unacceptable to continue on through the processing system  10 . Typically, the sensor assembly operates in such a manner that if the emitter and the receiver of the sensor assembly are blocked at the same time, the product is usually acceptable. If the sensor eyes are not blocked at the same time, the product is usually not in a condition to continue.  
         [0030]    If the product is acceptable at sensor assembly  59 , a signal is sent by the sensor assembly  59  to the stitcher controller  12  so that a divert gate (not shown) positioned along the trimmer line  64  at or around reference numeral  66  is opened and the product is directed into the gripper conveyor  20  or gripper conveyor  1  so that the product can continue on through the processing system  10  (Box  68 ). If the product is not acceptable at sensor assembly  59 , a signal is sent by the sensor assembly  59  to the stitcher controller  12  so that the divert gate is closed and the product is removed from the processing system  10  by suitable reject mechanisms (not shown) (Box  70 ). The stitcher controller  12  electronically communicates with the divert gate instructing the gate to open or close as needed.  
         [0031]    There are many different configurations of assembly lines, printer feeders, inkjet units, stitchers, stitchers, trimmers, sensors and divert gates known to those skilled in the art which are readily available from numerous commercial sources and which are capable for use according to the principles of the present invention. The manner of assembling, inserting, printing, binding and trimming the products is well known in the art and does not independently play a significant part of the present invention.  
         [0032]    It should be noted that the assembly operation  42  may be monitored for the occurrence of errors in any number of known ways. Sensors or encoders may be located at strategic locations in the assembly operation  42  and/or packaging operation  44  to sense the presence of acceptable or unacceptable products. The controllers  12  and  34  will communicate with the appropriate mechanisms to remove an unacceptable product at a chosen location.  
         [0033]    Continuing on through the system  10 , products that pass the divert gate in the trimmer line  64  are picked up by the gripper conveyor  20  which connects the assembly operation  42  with the overall packaging operation  44 . The gripper conveyor  20  may be any type of conveyor suitable for use according to the principles of the present invention, which is generally known to those skilled in the art and readily available from numerous commercial sources. However, a single-copy gripper conveyor such as a NP-200 available from Heidelburg Finishing Systems, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, is suitable for use according to the present invention. At this point, products will continue on through the system  10  either backbone/spine leading or head/foot leading through the remainder of the system  10 . The original label file contains coded information which will inform the stitcher controller  12  whether the products in a set of products will travel backbone/spine leading or head/foot leading through the packaging operation  44 . Based upon this information, the stitcher controller  12  will instruct the gripper conveyor  20  as to how the products will continue on through the system  10  (Box  72 ).  
         [0034]    Preferably, for a given set of products, all of the products will either run backbone/spine leading or head/foot leading through the packaging operation  44 , not a combination of the two. As shown, the gripper conveyor  20  either drops the products off at point A or point B. If the products are to travel head/foot leading through the system  10 , the products are dropped off at point A on the drop table  24  (Box  74 ). If the products are to travel backbone/spine leading through the system  10 , the products are dropped off at point B on the in-feed conveyor  22  (Box  76 ). The drop table  24  may be a lugged conveyor generally known to those skilled in the art and commercially available from numerous sources. The in-feed conveyor  22  may be any type of conveyor suitable for use according to the principles of the present invention, such as a lugged conveyor of the same type as the drop table  24 .  
         [0035]    As the products travel along the in-feed conveyor  22 , it must be determined whether a product is intended to be wrapped or not (Box  78 ). The sister label file identifies which products in the stream of products are destined for the wrapper  30 . The wrapper controller  34  tracks the position of each product moving along the in-feed conveyor  22  by preferably employing a conventional encoder  79  positioned along the conveying line  22 . The wrapper controller  34  will instruct the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  which products to take possession of out of the stream of products and which products to let pass. Although not shown, a divert gate may be positioned at or around reference numeral  77  to direct those products not destined for the wrapper  30  into the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 .  
         [0036]    If a product is not intended to be wrapped, that product is picked up by the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 . If a product is intended to be wrapped, that product is directed toward the wrapping assembly  26  (Boxes  80  and  82 ). Those products directed into wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  or gripper conveyor  2  will eventually be delivered to the mail table  38  as will be further explained below. The wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  may be any type of conveyor suitable for use according to the principles of the present invention. However, a conveyor like gripper conveyor  20  is suitable for use according to the present invention.  
         [0037]    The first portion of the wrapper assembly  26  includes a first diverting conveyor  84 , the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28 , and a second diverting conveyor  86 . The pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  or accumulating conveyor number  1  preferably includes at least two tiers, a top conveyor tier  88  and a bottom conveyor tier  90 . The purpose of providing at least two tiers will be more fully explained below. It is contemplated that the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  comprises an indexing conveyor which cooperates with a clutch assembly in order to index or advance a cell or a slot one cell at a time as needed, or when a product is set to be delivered to the conveyor  28 . The first diverting device or diverting conveyor  84  is located directly upstream of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28 . The diverting conveyor  84  directs products into one or the other of the tiers  88  and  90  depending on which tier  88  or  90  is accepting products.  
         [0038]    Located directly downstream of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  is the second diverting device or diverting conveyor  86 . This diverting conveyor  86  conveys products from one or the other of the tiers  88  and  90  into the second portion of the wrapper assembly  26  or wrapper  30  depending on which tier  88  or  90  is emptying products. The diverting devices may be of any commonly known diverting assemblies but diverting conveyors designed to separate a single stream of products into a plurality of streams of products or to combine a plurality of streams of products into a single stream of products are particularly suitable for use according to the principles of the present invention. The overall cooperation between the diverting conveyors  84  and  86 , pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  and the wrapper  30  will be more fully set forth below.  
         [0039]    In a typical manufacturing process, products are assembled, bound and trimmed at a rate of around 200-300 products per minute. The speed of the stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42  generally determines the rate at which products are assembled, bound and trimmed. The gripper conveyor  20 , the drop table  24 , the in-feed conveyor  22 , the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 , the diverting conveyor  84 , the diverting conveyor  92  (described below), and the mail table  38  preferably operate at the same speed as the stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42 . Preferably, the speed of the tier  88  or  90  accepting products coincides with the speed of the stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42  (Box  94 ). In this way, successive products entering the appropriate tier  88  or  90  will not collide with each other. If collision were to occur, this could cause the entire system  10  to jam up which would require the system  10  to be shut down in order to clear away the jam.  
         [0040]    As will be further explained, only one tier  88  or  90  is adapted to accept products at any given time. Wrapper controller  34  sends a signal to diverting conveyor  84  instructing the diverting conveyor  84  as to which tier  88  or  90  it should direct products. Products destined for the wrapper  30  are fed into the selected tier  88  or  90  for so long as the selected tier  88  or  90  has additional accumulating space (Box  96 ). As the tier  88  or  90  accepts products, the tier  88  or  90  will index to the next open cell until the tier  88  or  90  is full (Box  98 ). A scanner, such as a scanner which utilizes an emitter and a receiver which is generally known to those skilled in the art and readily available from numerous commercial suppliers, may be appropriately positioned along the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  in order to send a signal to the wrapper controller  34  when the tier  88  or  90  accepting products is full.  
         [0041]    Upon learning that the tier  88  or  90  accepting products is full, the wrapper controller  34  sends a signal to the diverting conveyor  84  instructing the diverting conveyor  84  to direct the next line of products into the other or empty tier  88  or  90  (Box  100 ). This previously empty tier  88  or  90  continues to accept products for so long as it has additional accumulating space or until full and then the diverting conveyor  84  shifts again in the same manner as above so as to divert the next line of products into the other or now empty tier  88  or  90 . Preferably, as one tier  88  or  90  is accepting products, the other tier  88  or  90  is emptying products into the wrapper  30 .  
         [0042]    Once tier  88  or  90  is full and a signal has been sent to the wrapper controller  34 , the wrapper controller  34  sends a signal to the full tier  88  or  90  to change the speed of the full tier  88  or  90  to follow the speed of the wrapper  30  (Box  102 ). For the same reasons that the tier  88  or  90  that is accepting products should travel at the same speed as the stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42 , the tier  88  or  90  feeding products to the wrapper  30  should travel at the same speed as the wrapper  30 . Generally, a wrapper  30  will not travel as fast as a stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42 . Thus, the tiers  88  and  90  of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  are preferably independently driven to travel at different speeds since the wrapper  30  generally works at a different speed than assembly operation  42 .  
         [0043]    Once the speed of the full tier  88  or  90  has been changed to match that of the wrapper  30 , the full tier  88  or  90  is set to deliver products to the wrapper  30  and the wrapping process can begin (Box  104 ). The wrapper  30  may be any type of wrapper known to those skilled in the art which is compatible with the principles of the subject invention. The wrapper  30  generally applies a transparent plastic film or paper wrap or band wrap, etc., around each product sent to the wrapping assembly  26 . The wrapper  30  should be capable of enveloping, severing, heating and sealing a plastic-like or paper-like protective film or packaging around each product. One such wrapper which is suitable for use according to the present invention is a L80-750 poly-wrapper, available from Sitma U.S.A. Corp., of St. Paul, Minn.  
         [0044]    A feature of the present invention is to send a number of products through the wrapper  30  one after the other rather than intermittently send the products through a wrapper. The plastic film wrapping material used by a wrapper can be difficult to control, as can be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The wrapping material is very thin and extremely flimsy. As such, it is desirable to control the tension of the wrapping material. A continuous wrapping operation or at least a wrapping operation which operates to wrap sets of a plurality of products in a continuous manner leads to better control over the wrapping material versus an intermittent operation. Also, wrappers generally use knives to cut the wrapping material and heaters to heat the film or plastic or adhesive it utilizes so as to seal the wrapping material. The temperature of the knives and heaters affects the overall operation of a wrapper. Operating a wrapper continuously or at least for periods of continuous operation allows for better control over the temperatures of the knives and heaters thereby further enhancing the operation of a wrapper.  
         [0045]    Positioned along the wrapper line  106  and/or the wrapper bypassing line  108  may be one or more inkjet units  110  and/or one or more printer feeders  112  similar to those previously described with reference to the assembly line  14 . Additionally, feeder pockets  114  may also be positioned along the wrapper line  106 . Feeder pockets  114  are generally known to those skilled in the art and are readily available from numerous sources. The inkjet units  110  and/or printer feeders  112  can personalize a product with an insert or an onsert such as an invoice. The feeder pockets  114  can also personalize a product with an insert or an onsert such as a promotional product which may include a CD-ROM disk or the like. When placing an insert in or an onsert on a particular product, it is important to place the insert or the onsert in the correct position in or on the product. An improperly placed insert or onsert may adversely affect the wrapping process as can be appreciated by those skilled in the art.  
         [0046]    The continuous wrapping process according to the present invention helps maintain the proper placement of an insert or an onsert versus the stop-and-go wrapping method of the prior art. As known in the art, some of the coatings found on certain products such as magazines are shinny and/or slippery. If an insert or an onsert such as a CD-ROM disk is placed in or on a product, the intermittent motion of prior art wrapper systems can cause the insert or the onsert to be shaken off of or out of the product or at least slid from the original position. The smooth continuous process of the wrapper  30  according to the present invention minimizes the undesirable results of an insert or an onsert falling off of or out of a product or from shifting to an undesirable location on or in the product.  
         [0047]    The tier  88  or  90  delivering products to the wrapper  30  continues to deliver products to the wrapper  30  until such time as that tier  88  or  90  is empty (Box  116 ). Once the tier  88  or  90  is completely emptied, a scanner, like the scanner previously described in reference to indicating when tier  88  or  90  is full, may be appropriately positioned along the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  in order to send a signal to the wrapper controller  34  such that the wrapper controller  34  changes the speed of the now emptied tier  88  or  90  back to the speed of the stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42  so that the now emptied tier  88  or  90  is ready to accept products once the other tier  88  or  90  is full (Box  118 ).  
         [0048]    As noted, as the products make their way through the wrapper  30 , the products may undergo selective inserting, onserting or printing (Box  120 ). This information is controlled by the information contained within the original label file and copied to the sister label file (Box  122 ). After the wrapper  30  wraps the product and the film is sealed by the wrapper  30  at a seal bar section  124 , the products are directed through an accelerator section  126  and towards the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  or accumulating conveyor number  2  (Box  128 ).  
         [0049]    The post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  is a part of a third portion of the wrapper assembly  26  which also comprises a first diverting conveyor  130  and the second diverting conveyor  92 . The post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  is similar to the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28 , and, therefore, the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  preferably includes at least two tiers, a top conveyor tier  132  and a bottom conveyor tier  134 . The pair of diverting conveyors  130  and  92  cooperate with the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32 . Preferably, whichever tier  88  or  90  of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  is feeding product to the wrapper  30 , the diverting conveyor  130  will direct product into the corresponding top  132  or bottom  134  tier of the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32 . Whichever tier  132  or  134  is being filled, the speed of that tier  132  or  134  as controlled by the wrapper controller  34  will match that of the wrapper  30  (Box  136 ). The tier  132  or  134 , accepting products will continue to accept products, for so long as the selected tier  132  or  134  has additional accumulating space (Box  138 ). As the tier  132  or  134  accepts products, the tier  132  or  134  will index to the next open cell until the tier  132  or  134  is full (Box  140 ).  
         [0050]    A scanner such as the scanners described in reference to the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  may be properly positioned along the post wrapper accumulating conveyer  32  to send a signal to the wrapper controller  34  when the tier  132  or  134  accepting products is full. Upon learning that the tier  132  or  134  is full, the wrapper controller  34  sends a signal to the diverting conveyor  130  instructing the diverting conveyor  130  to direct the next line of wrapped products into the other or empty tier  132  or  134  (Box  142 ). This previously empty tier  132  or  134  continues to accept product for so long as it has additional accumulating space or until full and then the diverting conveyor  130  shifts again in the same manner as above so as to divert the next line of products into the other or now empty tier  132  or  134 . Preferably, as one tier  132  or  134  is accepting product, the other tier  132  or  134  is emptying product as will be further explained.  
         [0051]    Once tier  132  or  134  is full and a signal has been sent to the wrapper controller  34 , the wrapper controller  34  sends a signal to the full tier  132  or  134  to change the speed of the full tier  132  or  134  to follow the speed of the stitcher  16  or assembly operation  42  (Box  144 ). The full tier  132  or  134  is now ready to deliver products to the mail table  38  (Box  146 ). As should be apparent, tiers  132  and  134  are preferably independently driven.  
         [0052]    Until the full tier  132  or  134  is empty (Box  148 ), the tier  132  or  134  selectively delivers product to the mail table  38  to fill the empty slots found in the stream of products as the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  delivers product to the mail table  38  (Box  150 ). The merging of the products from the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36  and the wrapper  30  at the mail table  38  will be further explained below with reference to the example provided herein. Once the tier  132  or  134  is empty, preferably a signal is sent to the wrapper controller  34  by a scanner similar to those provided for above, so that the wrapper controller  34  can change the speed following command of the now empty tier  132  or  134  to return to that of the wrapper  30  for the reasons stated above (Box  152 ).  
         [0053]    The mail table  38  is similar to the in-feed conveyor  22  but may be any type of conveyor suitable for use according to the present invention. The products will be processed along the mail table  38  preferably according to the order sent forth in the original label file. That is, preferably, the wrapped products that travel through the wrapper assembly  26  and the unwrapped products which bypass the wrapper assembly  26  by traveling along the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 , are combined at the mail table  38  according to the order of the original label file. Once the products reach the mail table  38 , a sensor assembly, like the sensor assembly positioned along the trimmer line  64 , may be properly positioned at or around reference numeral  154  so as to determine if each product is acceptable to be packaged for mailing (Box  156 ). Although not shown, a sensor like the one just mentioned may be appropriately placed along the wrapper line  106  to determine if each product should continue on or be removed from the processing system  10  consistent with the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0054]    If the product is acceptable at the mail table  38 , the product continues on to the packaging equipment  40 . If the product is unacceptable, the product is diverted out of the processing system  10  and a generic or replacement product is fed in its place (Box  158 ). A generic product or book feeder  160  known to those skilled in the art is positioned along the mail table  38  to feed a generic product when necessary. Although not shown, a generic product feeder may be appropriately placed along the trimmer line  64  or any other suitable position to feed a generic product if a product is diverted from the system  10 . The original label file results will coincide with the mailing output even if a generic product is needed (Box  162 ).  
         [0055]    Although not shown, inkjet units, printer feeders and/or feeder pockets may be positioned along the mail table  38  if desired. In fact, such equipment may be placed anywhere along the system  10  depending on the output desired. Typically, the final delivery address is placed on the product along the mail table  38  but can be placed on the inside of the wrapping material so that a delivery person can look through the wrap to find the address.  
         [0056]    Having described the overall apparatus and method according to the present invention, to further illustrate the invention, a method according to the invention is described with reference to Tables I-III. In this example, the product series comprises 200 magazines. Table I consists of the Original Label File for 200 magazines and the information which is downloaded to the stitcher controller  12  (Box  46 ) where:  
         [0057]    S#=Sequence Number of Magazine;  
         [0058]    WI=Wrap Indicator, where 0 indicates that the magazine is not to be wrapped and 1 indicates that the magazine is to be wrapped;  
         [0059]    BT=Book Type which may be identified with numbers  1 - 6  identifying various Book Types customized to particular customers; and  
         [0060]    WBT=Wrapped Book Type which may be identified with letters A-D identifying various Wrapped Book Types customized to particular customers; 0 indicates the magazine is not to be wrapped.  
                                                                                                                                                                   TABLE I                           ORIGINAL LABEL FILE            S#   WI   BT   WBT   S#   WI   BT   WBT   S#   WI   BT   WBT   S#   WI   BT   WBT                    1   0   4   0       51   0   2   0       101   1   1   B       151   0   2   0       2   0   2   0       52   1   5   C       102   0   3   0       152   0   2   0       3   0   2   0       53   0   3   0       103   0   2   0       153   1   5   B       4   1   1   D       54   0   4   0       104   0   4   0       154   0   3   0       5   0   4   0       55   0   4   0       105   0   4   0       155   0   3   0       6   0   4   0       56   0   3   0       106   0   3   0       156   0   2   0       7   0   4   0       57   0   3   0       107   0   4   0       157   0   2   0       8   0   3   0       58   1   1   C       108   0   4   0       158   1   1   D       9   0   2   0       59   1   1   B       109   0   3   0       159   0   3   0       10   0   3   0       60   1   1   B       110   0   2   0       160   0   4   0       11   1   5   C       61   1   6   D       111   0   2   0       161   0   4   0       12   0   3   0       62   0   3   0       112   1   1   A       162   1   1   A       13   0   4   0       63   0   2   0       113   0   3   0       163   0   4   0       14   0   4   0       64   0   4   0       114   0   4   0       164   0   2   0       15   1   6   B       65   0   4   0       115   0   4   0       165   0   4   0       16   0   4   0       66   0   3   0       116   0   4   0       166   0   4   0       17   0   2   0       67   1   1   B       117   1   5   B       167   1   1   C       18   0   3   0       68   0   3   0       118   0   3   0       168   0   3   0       19   0   3   0       69   0   2   0       119   0   3   0       169   0   3   0       20   0   3   0       70   0   2   0       120   0   2   0       170   0   3   0       21   0   3   0       71   1   1   C       121   0   3   0       171   0   2   0       22   0   2   0       72   0   2   0       122   0   4   0       172   1   1   C       23   0   2   0       73   0   4   0       123   0   2   0       173   0   3   0       24   0   4   0       74   0   4   0       124   1   1   D       174   0   4   0       25   1   1   A       75   1   5   A       125   0   3   0       175   1   1   A       26   0   3   0       76   0   2   0       126   0   3   0       176   0   2   0       27   0   2   0       77   0   3   0       127   0   2   0       177   0   4   0       28   0   2   0       78   0   2   0       128   0   2   0       178   1   6   D       29   1   1   C       79   0   3   0       129   0   2   0       179   0   4   0       30   0   3   0       80   0   2   0       130   1   1   C       180   1   1   C       31   0   3   0       81   0   3   0       131   0   3   0       181   0   3   0       32   0   4   0       82   0   3   0       132   0   3   0       182   0   2   0       33   0   4   0       83   0   3   0       133   0   3   0       183   0   2   0       34   0   4   0       84   1   5   C       134   1   1   B       184   0   2   0       35   0   3   0       85   0   3   0       135   0   3   0       185   0   2   0       36   0   4   0       86   1   1   C       136   0   4   0       186   0   2   0       37   1   6   D       87   0   4   0       137   0   4   0       187   0   4   0       38   0   2   0       88   1   1   B       138   1   5   C       188   0   3   0       39   0   2   0       89   0   2   0       139   0   3   0       189   0   4   0       40   0   2   0       90   0   3   0       140   0   2   0       190   1   1   D       41   0   3   0       91   0   3   0       141   0   4   0       191   0   2   0       42   1   6   D       92   0   3   0       142   0   3   0       192   0   4   0       43   0   3   0       93   0   4   0       143   0   3   0       193   0   2   0       44   0   4   0       94   1   6   C       144   0   2   0       194   1   6   B       45   0   3   0       95   0   2   0       145   0   4   0       195   0   3   0       46   0   3   0       96   0   2   0       146   1   1   B       196   0   3   0       47   0   3   0       97   0   2   0       147   1   6   C       197   0   2   0       48   0   4   0       98   0   4   0       148   0   3   0       198   1   1   D       49   1   1   B       99   0   3   0       149   0   2   0       199   0   3   0       50   0   3   0       100   0   4   0       150   0   2   0       200   0   2   0                  
 
         [0061]    It should be noted that the original label file may contain additional data regarding each product than that shown.  
         [0062]    Table II consists of the Sister Label File generated by the wrapper controller  34  (Box  48 ) where:  
         [0063]    S#′=Sister Label Sequence Number of Magazine;  
         [0064]    WBT=Wrapper Book Type; and  
         [0065]    (OSN)=Original Sequence Number (S#) from the Original Label File.  
                                                                                                                   TABLE II                           SISTER LABEL FILE            S#′   WBT   (OSN)   S#′   WBT   (OSN)   S#′   WBT   (OSN)   S#′   WBT   (OSN)                    1   D   (4)   11   B   (59)   21   B   (101)   31   D   (158)       2   C   (11)   12   B   (60)   22   A   (112)   32   A   (162)       3   B   (15)   13   B   (61)   23   B   (117)   33   C   (167)       4   A   (25)   14   B   (67)   24   D   (124)   34   C   (172)       5   C   (29)   15   C   (71)   25   C   (130)   35   A   (175)       6   D   (37)   16   A   (75)   26   B   (134)   36   D   (178)       7   D   (42)   17   C   (84)   27   C   (138)   37   C   (180)       8   B   (49)   18   C   (86)   28   D   (146)   38   D   (190)       9   C   (52)   19   B   (88)   29   C   (147)   39   B   (194)       10   C   (58)   20   C   (94)   30   B   (153)   40   D   (198)                  
 
         [0066]    As explained, the sister label file identifies which magazines from the original label file are intended to be wrapped. Thus, forty out of the original 200 magazines are intended to be wrapped.  
         [0067]    Table III contains the running file generated by the wrapper controller  34  (Box  50 ) where:  
         [0068]    RFS#=Running File Sequence Number of Magazine;  
         [0069]    PFS#=Pre-running File Sequence Number of Magazine [i.e., S# or (S#′)]; and  
         [0070]    OP#=Output Number of Magazine, which corresponds to the original sequence number (S#) from the Original Label File.  
                                                                 TABLE III                           RUNNING FILE            RFS#   PFS#   OP#   RFS#   PFS#   OP#   RFS#   PFS#   OP#   RFS#   PFS#   OP#               1   (1)   4   51   31   31   101   81   81   151   137   137       2   (2)   11   52   32   32   102   82   82   152   139   139       3   (3)   15   53   33   33   103   83   83   153   140   140       4   (4)   25   54   34   34   104   (37)   180   154   141   141       5   (5)   29   55   35   35   105   85   85   155   142   142       6   (6)   37   56   36   36   106   (38)   190   156   143   143       7   (7)   42   57   (26)   134   107   87   87   157   144   144       8   (8)   49   58   38   38   108   (39)   194   158   145   145       9   (9)   52   59   39   39   109   89   89   159   148   148       10   (10)   58   60   40   40   110   90   90   160   149   149       11   (11)   59   61   41   41   111   91   91   161   150   150       12   (12)   60   62   (27)   138   112   92   92   162   151   151       13   (13)   61   63   43   43   113   93   93   163   152   152       14   (14)   67   64   44   44   114   (40)   198   164   154   154       15   (15)   71   65   45   45   115   95   95   165   155   155       16   (16)   75   66   46   46   116   96   96   166   156   156       17   (17)   84   67   47   47   117   97   97   167   157   157       18   (18)   86   68   48   48   118   98   98   168   159   159       19   (19)   88   69   (28)   146   119   99   99   169   160   160       20   (20)   94   70   50   50   120   100   100   170   161   161       21   1   1   71   51   51   121   102   102   171   163   163       22   2   2   72   (29)   147   122   103   103   172   164   164       23   3   3   73   53   53   123   104   104   173   165   165       24   (21)   101   74   54   54   124   105   105   174   166   166       25   5   5   75   55   55   125   106   106   175   168   168       26   6   6   76   56   56   126   107   107   176   169   169       27   7   7   77   57   57   127   108   108   177   170   170       28   8   8   78   (30)   153   128   109   109   178   171   171       29   9   9   79   (31)   158   129   110   110   179   173   173       30   10   10   80   (32)   162   130   111   111   180   174   174       31   (22)   112   81   (33)   167   131   113   113   181   176   176       32   12   12   82   62   62   132   114   114   182   177   177       33   13   13   83   63   63   133   115   115   183   179   179       34   14   14   84   64   64   134   116   116   184   181   181       35   (23)   117   85   65   65   135   118   118   185   182   182       36   16   16   86   66   66   136   119   119   186   183   183       37   17   17   87   (34)   172   137   120   120   187   184   184       38   18   18   88   68   68   138   121   121   188   185   185       39   19   19   89   69   69   139   122   122   189   186   186       40   20   20   90   70   70   140   123   123   190   187   187       41   21   21   91   (35)   175   141   125   125   191   188   188       42   22   22   92   72   72   142   126   126   192   189   189       43   23   23   93   73   73   143   127   127   193   191   191       44   24   24   94   74   74   144   128   128   194   192   192       45   (24)   124   95   (36)   178   145   129   129   195   193   193       46   26   26   96   76   76   146   131   131   196   195   195       47   27   27   97   77   77   147   132   132   197   196   196       48   28   28   98   78   78   148   133   133   198   197   197       49   (25)   130   99   79   79   149   135   135   199   199   199       50   30   30   100   80   80   150   136   136   200   200   200                  
 
         [0071]    Preferably, the original label file is in demographic address order. In this way, the final output which coincides with the original label file will be in an order which allows for the maximum postal savings as previously explained. The apparatus and method according to the present invention does not assemble the books in demographic order as should be apparent with reference to the running file representatively shown in Table III. Not having to assemble the books in demographic order allows for greater flexibility in the overall system  10 , particularly, the wrapping assembly  26 , in order to allow for improved results.  
         [0072]    As previously noted, a feature of the present invention is to provide a wrapping process which improves the overall operation of the wrapper  30 . As a result, when the manufacturing process begins (Box  52 ), a predetermined number of products are sent to the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28 . In this example, the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  is adapted to hold twenty products, ten on the top tier  88  and ten on the bottom tier  90 . It should be noted that the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  can be adapted to hold more or less than twenty products depending on the circumstances in each case.  
         [0073]    With reference to Table II, there are forty magazines out of the list of 200 magazines that are to be wrapped in this set of products. With reference to Table III, the first twenty running file magazines correspond to the first twenty products to be wrapped as identified in Table II. Thus, the first ten magazines of the running file are sent to the top tier  88  of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor  28  (Boxes  96  and  98 ). Once tier  88  is full, the next ten magazines are directed into tier  90  (Box  100 ). As tier  90  is filling up, tier  88  is emptying by sending the first ten products on to the wrapper  30  (Box  104 ). The ten magazines from tier  88  are fed one right after the other through the wrapper  30  and delivered to tier  132  of the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  where the products are collected until such time as they are to be delivered to the mail table  38  (Box  128 ). Once tier  88  is emptied and the speed control command changed as described above, tier  88  is again ready to receive additional products after tier  90  is full. Preferably, tiers  132  and  134  are designed to accumulate the same number of products as tiers  88  and  90 .  
         [0074]    With reference to Table III, as the first twenty magazines are making their way towards the wrapper  30 , the twenty-first running file magazine is next in line. As shown in the running file list, the twenty-first running file magazine corresponds to the first original label file magazine and, therefore, the first output file magazine. As the twenty-first running file product makes its way through the system  10 , since it is not to be wrapped, it is picked up by the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 . The twenty-second and twenty-third running file magazines correspond to the second and third output file magazines, respectively, neither of which is intended to be wrapped. As a result, the twenty-second and twenty-third magazines are also picked up by the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 . The twenty-fourth running file magazine has been designated for wrapping. Thus, it will enter previously emptied tier  88 . The twenty-fifth through the thirtieth running file magazines will enter the wrapper bypassing line  108 . The thirty-first running file magazine, having been designated for wrapping, will enter the next position in tier  88 . The thirty-second running file magazine through the thirty-fourth running file magazines will enter the wrapper bypassing line  108 , and so on.  
         [0075]    When the twenty-fourth and the thirty-first running file magazines are removed from the stream of products on the conveying line  22 , a gap will be created in the stream of products traveling along the wrapper bypassing line  108 . As the twenty-first through twenty-third running file magazines are deposited on the mail table (the first, second and third output magazines), the fourth output magazine corresponds to a wrapped magazine as shown in Table I. With reference to Table III, the fourth output file magazine corresponds to the first running file magazine now cued up in the top tier  132  of the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32 . After the third output magazine (i.e., the twenty-third running file magazine) is deposited on the mail table  38  from the wrapper bypassing conveyor  36 , the post-accumulating conveyor  32  delivers the fourth output magazine (i.e., the first running file magazine) to the mail table  38  which falls in line with the previously deposited output products. The first running file magazine will be deposited in the gap created between the twenty-third and twenty-fifth running file magazines in the stream of products that traveled along the wrapper bypassing line  108 . As a new gap reaches the mail table  38 , the appropriately destined product in the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor  32  will be delivered to the mail table  38  to fill the gap.  
         [0076]    As should now be understood, the twenty-fourth running file magazine will travel through the wrapper assembly  26  and be deposited on the mail table  38  when output magazine one hundred one is scheduled to be deposited. This magazine will fill a gap created between running file magazines one hundred twenty and one hundred twenty one. As noted, the tier  88  accepts the twenty-fourth running file magazine and the next nine magazines to be wrapped (RFS#&#39;s 31, 35, 45, 49, 57, 62, 69, 72 and 78) before delivering these products to the wrapper  30 . As these RFS#&#39;s are being delivered to the wrapper  30 , tier  90  is ready to accept the next ten products to be wrapped (RFS#&#39;s 79, 80, 81, 87, 91, 95, 104, 106, 108 and 114). The process continues until the last magazine is deposited on the mail table  38 .  
         [0077]    It should be recognized that the present invention greatly enhances the flexibility of customizing signatures in a binding and wrapping system and allows magazines having various types of customization to be produced for subscribers in a given postal zone. For example, it may be desirable to send to one subscriber an unwrapped magazine with personalized messages and send his neighbor, a new subscriber, a wrapped magazine including a coupon for free/discounted merchandise, a welcome greeting and a sample of a flat packaged new product such as a compact disk, a shampoo packet, or the like. Unlike prior art systems which wrap each customized publication apart from those publications bound in a binding system, the present invention provides improved selectivity by combining a binding line with a wrapping line, which saves money and time by wrapping only preselected products from a single stream of products, yet offers further customization and optimal sortation.  
         [0078]    The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention in the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings in skill or knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described herein are further intended to explain the best modes known for practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention as such, or other embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the present invention. It is intended that the appended claims are to be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.  
         [0079]    Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.