Apparqus and method for applying a multi-package carrier

An apparatus and method for assembling a plurality of articles with carriers in a connected carrier strip. The apparatus and method separates the strip of carriers assembled with a plurality of articles to form discrete packages of a plurality of articles by dividing the carrier strip horizontally tranversely to the path of travel of the articles and the assembled carrier strip. The portion of the apparatus for separating the articles is positionable between groups of articles moving along a path of travel and provides tensioning of the carrier strip between groups of articles to facilitate dividing the carrier strip along weakened lines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to the article packaging arts and more 
particularly to a machine and method for assembling a plurality of 
articles with a packaging carrier. 
The prior art discloses various forms of carriers for assembly with 
articles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,331 to Klygis and U.S. Pat. No. 
4,219,117 to Weaver et al. are two examples of carriers used to package a 
plurality of articles in close relation. Generally, this type of carrier 
is formed of a resilient material which can be deformably stretched. When 
stretched, openings formed in the material enlarge to permit assembly over 
the ends of articles. Once the stretching force is removed, the carrier 
material elastically reforms around the articles. Although these two 
references show generally cylindrical beverage containers retained within 
the carrier, articles of other dimensions may be assembled with an 
appropriately dimensioned carrier strip employing a similar process. 
Weaver et al. shows a carrier strip which comprises two rows of 
longitudinally adjacent bands The Klygis patent shows a carrier strip 
which is formed with three rows of longitudinally adjacent bands. In both 
patents, the strip is engaged along the outside edge of the bands and 
stretched outwardly so that each band forms an opening which complements 
the article to be assembled therewith. In the Klygis patent, forces 
exerted on the two outermost bands of each row of three adjacent bands 
stretch the medial band deforming it to complementarily accommodate an 
article assembled therethrough. 
An apparatus as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,682 to Braun provides a 
machine which engages a carrier strip and assembles the carrier strip with 
a plurality of articles moving in close relation thereto. The apparatus in 
Braun has a rotary drum with carrier stretching members for engaging, 
stretching and positioning the carrier strip over the tops of the articles 
moving thereunder such that the carrier material is retained under the 
chime of the article. This apparatus positions the articles in relation to 
the rotary drum and carrier strip using pairs of "star-wheels". The 
star-wheels engage the sides of the articles generally at a top and bottom 
position to locate the articles for proper assembly with the carrier. 
Once the carrier has been assembled with the articles, the continuous 
carrier strip is periodically cut to form discrete packages. Preferably, 
the carrier strip is formed with weakened areas at periodic intervals to 
promote division into the discrete packages. Typically, the carrier 
assembled with the articles are divided into discrete packages using an 
apparatus such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,264 to Felstehausen or 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,640 to Schlueter. The apparatus in Felstehausen 
vertically transversely divides the carrier strip by cutting vertically 
downward through the strip. Division of the carrier strip occurs using a 
blade which is generally vertically perpendicularly positioned relative to 
the generally horizontal plane of the path of travel of the carrier at the 
point of division. Schlueter shows a device which separates three columns 
of articles by using two cutting star wheels which cut the carrier 
material along the outside edge and a vertical cutter to cut the center 
material. While devices in both Felstehausen and Schlueter are effective 
at cutting necked portions of carrier material retained near the top of 
the articles it is difficult to cut carrier material retained 
substantially spaced apart from the top and bottom of the articles. 
Further, the prior art systems generally depend upon mounting the carrier 
strip to engage the top chime of the article. An example of such retaining 
structure is the top chime of a cylindrical beverage container generally 
formed by joining the top edge of the cylindrical body and the 
circumferential edge of the top. It is under the chime which an inside 
edge of the aperture formed through the center of a retaining band is 
retainably secured. The current beverage container market has decreased 
the diameter of the top surface and thus the circumference of the chime 
thereby requiring specialized carrying strips to be manufactured. The 
problem is exacerbated since the beverage container market has diverged 
from uniformity in that there are many types of top chimes having varying 
diameters. However, the diameter of the body of these beverage containers 
is substantially uniform regardless of the diameter of the top chime. 
Therefore, it is desirable to produce a uniform carrier strip which can be 
positioned substantially spaced from the top and bottom of an article 
since the mid-section of most articles have a generally uniform perimeter. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A general object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and 
method which assembles a carrier strip with a plurality of containers and 
divides the carrier strip into discrete packages at a high rate. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and 
method for dividing the carrier strip assembled with a plurality of 
articles in a transverse horizontal direction to the path of travel of the 
articles assembled with the carrier strip. 
In accordance with the foregoing, the present invention comprises an 
apparatus and method for assembling a plurality of articles with carriers 
in a strip of connected carriers. The apparatus and method separates the 
strip of carriers to form discrete packages of a plurality of articles by 
dividing the carrier strip horizontally transversely to the path of travel 
of the articles and the assembled carrier strip. The portion of the 
apparatus for separating the articles is positionable between groups of 
articles moving along a path of travel and provides tensioning of the 
carrier between groups of articles to facilitate dividing the carrier 
strip along weakened lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT 
While this invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, 
there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, a 
specific embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is 
to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, 
and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated 
and described herein. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus 20 has conveyor means 22 which deliver a 
stream or a plurality of articles 24 following a path of travel 26 for 
packaging. Articles 24 enter the apparatus 20 at an input end 28, are 
moved along the path of travel 26, and, after being packaged, exit at the 
output end 30 as discrete packages 32 of articles 24. An electronic 
controller 34 of known construction including graphics display 35 with 
function keys 36 and data collection is utilized to control the apparatus 
20. 
FIG. 2 provides a plan view of the apparatus 20 as shown in FIG. 1. The 
plan view shows six columns 37 of articles 24 moving along the path of 
travel 26. The six columns 37 are divisible into two lanes 38 each being 
comprised of three columns 37. As shown in FIG. 2, the articles 24 are 
transported in the two lanes 38 along the path of travel 26 for assembly 
with carrier means 40 by assembly means 42. 
Separating means 44 are positioned relative to the two lanes 38 and are 
moved by drive means 45 which move the separating means 44 synchronous 
with the conveyor means 22. The separating means 44 include reciprocating 
arms 46 which are positioned between articles 24 moving along the path of 
travel 26. Articles 24 positioned between two arms 46 form a group 48 of 
articles 24 to be packaged with the carrier means 40. 
As better illustrated in FIG. 10, the carrier means 40 is comprised of a 
carrier strip 50 formed of a flexible, resilient plastic sheet material 
having a longitudinal series of transverse article retaining bands 51 
having band interconnecting portions or interconnections 52 therebetween 
to form a strip. Apertures 53 formed through the bands 51 generally are 
not shaped or sufficiently large to receive the articles 24 with which 
they are assembled. Rather, the bands 51 are formed of a resilient 
material such that when stretched, the stretched aperture 53 closely 
engages an outside surface 55 of the article 24 with which it is 
assembled. 
The carrier strip 50 shown in FIG. 10 is an illustrative composite showing 
two forms of band interconnections 52; a narrowed neck-like isthmul 
portion 54a on the right side of FIG. 10, and a continuous connected 
portion 54b on the left side of FIG. 10. The continuous connected portion 
54b is formed by extensions of opposed bands 51 generally continuously 
extending therebetween. Both forms of band interconnections 52 extend from 
opposed bands 51 to meet forming a connection therebetween. The 
interconnections 52 may be formed between every row of bands or a 
predetermined periodic interval, for example every two rows. Perforated or 
otherwise weakened tear lines 57 are formed along the interconnections 52 
to facilitate separation of the groups 48 of articles 24 assembled with 
the carrier strip 50 into discrete packages 32 of articles 24. 
In the side view of the apparatus as illustrated in FIG. 3, a reel 58 of 
the carrier strip 50 is delivered by delivery means 60 to the assembly 
means 42. A plurality of articles 24 move along the path of travel 26 
through the assembly means 42 whereupon they are assembled with the 
carrier strip 50 and separated into discrete packages 32. As will be 
described in further detail hereinbelow, the separating means 44 include a 
common flight 62 which is driven by sprockets 64 attached to the drive 
means 45. The arms 46 are attached to the common flight 62 for positioning 
between groups 48 of articles 24 on the fly. Generally, the common flight 
62 is synchronized with the conveyor means 22 so that the arms 46 
reciprocally attached thereto are easily insertable between articles 24 
moving along the path of travel 26. 
FIG. 4 provides an enlarged perspective view looking towards the assembly 
means 42 from the input end 28. It should be noted that articles 24 have 
been removed from the lane 38 in the foreground of the view in order to 
clearly illustrate the operation of the separating means 44. Further, 
articles 24 have been removed from the background to clearly illustrate 
movement of the arms 46 through passages 65 formed in column dividers 66 
positioned in the lanes 38. 
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the common flight 62 is a chain conveyor 
including two chains, an inside chain 67 parallelly positioned along side 
of the conveyor means 22 and an outside chain 68 parallelly positioned 
along side and spaced apart from the inside chain 67. Footing blocks 69 
are mounted at periodic spacings on a conveyor facing edge 70 of the 
outside chain 68 and an outwardly facing edge 71 of the inside chain 67 
along the common flight 62. Rails 72 are attached to opposing pairs of 
footing blocks 69 generally perpendicularly between the pair of common 
flight 62 chains 67, 68. The rails 72 provide a structure capable of 
moving with the common flight 62 while providing a support on which the 
arms 46 reciprocate. 
Movement of the arms 46 along the rail 72 is accomplished by reciprocating 
means 73 to which the arms 46 are attached. Reciprocating means 73 include 
a generally "L"-shaped body portion 75 and rotatable wheels 74. The wheels 
74 are mounted to the body portion 75 and engage the rail 68. With the arm 
46 mounted to the body portion 75, movement of the body portion 75 results 
in movement of the arm 46 thereattached. 
Reciprocation of the reciprocating means 73 and the attached arm 46 is 
achieved through a camming arrangement. Each body portion 75 of the 
reciprocating means 73 has a cam pin 76 attached to the underside thereof. 
The cam pin 76 movably engages a camming track 78 which is generally 
non-parallely directed with respect to the conveyor 22 resulting in 
reciprocally urging the arm 46 in between or out from a group 48 of 
articles 24. 
As shown in FIG. 4, the arms 46 are relatively flat generally rigid 
elongate members. When fully extended perpendicularly across the path of 
travel 26, a length dimension 79 of the arm sufficiently spans the entire 
width of the path of travel 26. As well as reciprocally inserting in 
between groups of articles 48 (as indicated by arrow 80), the arms 46 
travel synchronously in the direction of the path of travel 26 generally 
in close relation to a top surface 81 of the conveyor means 22. In the 
present embodiment, a height dimension 82 of the arms 46 is at least less 
than one-half of the article height, but may be shorter or taller than 
conventional articles. Dimensioned as such, the arms 46 helps support and 
move articles 24 in the direction of the path of travel 26 as well as 
retain the articles 24 in upright parallel alignment. 
Once the arm 46 is fully extended from an outside edge 86 to an inside edge 
88 of the conveyor 22, a locking tip 90 formed on a free end 91 of the arm 
46 mates with a cooperatively dimensioned and positioned notch 92 formed 
on a notched footing block 93 positioned on the inside edge 88 of the 
conveyor 22. Engagement of the locking tip 90 with the notch 92 prohibits 
flexing of the arm 46 against the path of travel 26 thereby increasing 
retention of the group 48 of articles 24 in close relation. 
To further improve reciprocation of the arm 46 in between and out from 
groups 48 of articles 24, friction reducing material 96 is attached or 
applied to article abutting surfaces 94 of the arm. The friction reducing 
material 96 prevents damage to the outside surface 55 of the articles 24 
positioned thereagainst. The friction reducing material 96 therefore 
promotes grouping of the articles 24, protection of the outside surfaces 
55 of the articles 24 and protection of the assembly process by preventing 
damage to the articles 24 the contents of which could impair the operation 
of and hence the processing rate of the apparatus 20. 
As shown in FIG. 4, and with greater detail in FIG. 5, a blade member 100 
extends upwardly away from the top edge 84 of the arm 46. As illustrated 
and described in greater detail hereinbelow, the blade member 100 promotes 
separation of the groups 48 of articles 24 once the carrier strip 50 is 
assembled therewith. The blade member 100 is attached to the arm 46 
towards the free end 91 and has a leading edge 102 shaped to promote 
separation of the carrier strip 50 upon extraction of the arm 46. An angle 
104 generally equal to or less than 90.degree. is formed between the 
leading edge 102 and the top edge 84 of the arm 46. This angle 104 
promotes retention of the carrier 50 on the articles 24 assembled 
therewith by preventing the carrier material 50 from being forced upwardly 
along the outside surface 55 of the articles 24 as the arm 46 is extracted 
from between a group 48 of articles 24. 
FIG. 4 further illustrates the relative movement of the various components 
of the apparatus 20 from the input end 28. The general direction of 
movement in this area 28 is coincident with the path of travel 26. As 
shown in FIG. 4, the conveyor means 22, the inside chain 67 and outside 
chain 68 of the common flight 62, as well as the attached separating means 
44 components and the notched blocks 93, synchronously move along a common 
path of travel 26. At the input end 28 of the apparatus 20, the camming 
track 78 is angled inwardly towards the conveyor means 22 such that the 
reciprocating means 73 follow an angular path inwardly towards the 
conveyor means 22 along the path of travel 26. The angular movement of the 
reciprocating means 73 moves the arms 46 attached thereto in a 
perpendicular direction 80 relative the path of travel 26 while moving 
synchronously in the path of travel 26. 
Assembly means 42 include a rotary application drum 105 which rotates in a 
complementary direction to the path of travel 26 to assemble the carrier 
strip 50 retained thereon with the articles 24 moving thereunder. As shown 
in FIG. 4, the carrier strip 50 is retained on the rotary application drum 
105 by a carrier engaging assembly or application jaw stations 106. The 
application jaw stations 106 are a combination of reciprocal jaws 108 
positioned along an outside edge 110 of the drum 105 and stationery jaws 
112 fixedly positioned along a central portion 114 of the drum 105. With 
the jaws 108, 112 projecting through the outer most apertures 53 of the 
carrier strip 50, the reciprocal jaws 108 are outwardly cammed, as 
indicated by the arrow 118, stretching the carrier 50 away from the 
stationery jaw 112. By stretching the carrier 50, the apertures 53 formed 
therethrough are sufficiently enlarged to permit assembly of the carrier 
50 with the articles 24. Further detail of the structure of the 
application jaw stations 106 is provided hereinbelow in the description 
accompanying FIGS. 6 and 7. 
FIGS. 6 and 7 provide enlarged side and bottom views of the application jaw 
stations 106. As shown in FIGS. 4, 8 and 9, the application jaw stations 
106 are mounted to the rotary application drum 105 and have reciprocal jaw 
portions 108 which are cammingly moved to stretch the carrier 50. Each of 
the application jaw stations 106 is comprised of a stationary block 120 
mounted on the central portion 114 of the drum 105 to which is 
stationarily mounted a pair of opposed jaw plates 122. Each stationary jaw 
plate 122 has a corresponding cooperatively positioned reciprocal jaw 
assembly 108 mounted generally on the outside of the rotary application 
drum 105. It is to be noted that FIGS. 6 and 7 only illustrate one 
reciprocal jaw 108 and both stationary jaws 112 of the application jaw 
stations 106. 
The reciprocal jaw 108 is secured to the rotary application drum 105 by 
mounting block 124 which has two bores 126 formed therethrough. The jaw 
plate 122 of the reciprocal jaw 108 is secured to a pair of operating rods 
128 which are radially or vertically stacked relative to an axis 129 of 
the drum 105 permitting closer spacing of the application jaw stations 106 
around the circumference of the rotary application drum 105 and providing 
sufficient clearance for arms 46. The operating rods 128 project through 
and are slidably retained within the corresponding bores 126. Ends of the 
operating rods 128 distal the jaw plate 122 are secured to a cam follower 
block 130. The cam follower block 130 is formed with rollers 132 which 
follow a camming track positioned near the outermost edge of the rotary 
application drum 105. The camming track is angled inwardly towards and 
outwardly away from the articles 24 moving underneath the rotary 
application drum 105 to urge the reciprocal jaw 108 inwardly towards the 
center of the drum 105 and outwardly therefrom via mechanical engagement 
with the rollers 132. 
When the camming track (not shown, but similar in operation to the 
mechanisms as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,682 to Braun) is angle inwardly 
towards the drum 105, the reciprocal jaw 108 is slidably moved towards the 
stationary jaw 112. At a position where the stationary and reciprocal jaws 
112, 108 have moved sufficiently close to each other, the carrier material 
is positioned over fingers 134 on the respective jaw plates 122. After the 
carrier material has been positioned over the fingers 134, the camming 
track angles outwardly away from the stationary jaw 112 thereby moving the 
jaw plate 122 of the reciprocal jaw 108 away from the stationary jaw 112. 
As the reciprocal jaw 108 moves away from the stationary jaw 112, the 
carrier material positioned on the respective fingers 134 thereof is 
stretched to enlarge the apertures 54 a sufficient dimension to permit 
assembly with articles 24. The positioning of the carrier material 50 on 
the application jaw stations 106 and stretching of the carrier material 50 
is performed in a high speed rotary motion as the application jaws 106 are 
mounted to the outer surface of the rotary application drum 105. As the 
application drum 105 rotates in a complementary direction to the path of 
travel 26, the apertures 53 are positioned over corresponding articles 24 
moving thereunder. 
FIG. 8 provides greater detail of the point at which the carrier material 
50 is assembled with the articles 24 moving thereunder. The view 
illustrated in FIG. 8 is taken looking towards the central portion 114 of 
the drum 105 through a single column of articles 37 moving along the path 
of travel 26. As shown in FIG. 8, the stationary jaws 112 include the jaw 
plate 122 mounted to the stationary jaw block 120 and the corresponding 
fingers 134. Carrier material 50 is stretched and retained on the 
stationary fingers 134 and positioned over a top portion 136 of the 
articles 24 moving thereunder. The diameter of the application drum 105 
permits a shallow angle of approach or slope in applying the carrier 
material 50 over tops 136 of the articles 24. Further, the diameter of the 
rotary drum 105 is dimensioned to permit delivery of the carrier material 
50 to a midpoint 135 positioned substantially spaced from top and bottom 
portions 136, 137 of the articles 24. As an alternative, the application 
drum 105 is eliminated and the application jaw stations 106 are mounted to 
a moving flight or other moving application jaw stations 106 retaining 
structure. Use of an alternative to the drum 105 decreases the angle of 
approach of the carrier material 50 being applied to the articles 24. 
Once the carrier material 50 is positioned over the articles 24, a fin 138 
helps to position the carrier downwardly onto the outside surfaces 55 of 
the articles 24. The fin 138 in frictional engagement between the carrier 
bands and surfaces 55 assists in peeling the carrier 50 off of the jaw 
fingers 134 as the rotary application drum 105 sweeps the application jaw 
stations 106 upwardly away from the articles 24 in a rotary motion. The 
fin 138 is formed with a gently sloping leading edge 140 providing minimum 
interference with the application jaw stations 106 and the carrier 
material 50 retained therebetween. The exit side of the blade 138 is 
likewise curved to prevent snagging of the carrier material 50 as it peels 
from the application jaw stations 106. Once the carrier strip 50 is 
assembled with the articles 24, the arm 46 positioned between groups 48 of 
articles 24 is extracted from between the group 48 of articles 24. To 
avoid interference between the moving arm 46 with the fin 138, a passage 
notch 142 is formed through the fin 138. The passage notch 142 is 
positioned at an appropriate location determined by the path of travel of 
the arm 46 being extracted from between the groups 48 of articles 24 as 
the articles 24 move along the path of travel 26. 
As shown in FIG. 9, two fins 138 separate each lane 38 into three (3) 
single article columns 37. The fins 138 illustrated in FIG. 9 are formed 
with passage notches 142 to permit movement therethrough of the upstanding 
blade portion 100 mounted to the top 84 of the arm 46. Although articles 
24 have been omitted from FIG. 9, it can be seen that the reciprocal arms 
46 are fully extracted from out of the path of travel 26 at the output end 
32 of the apparatus 20. As shown, the footing blocks 69 along the outside 
edge 86 of the conveyor 22 and the notched footing blocks 93 along the 
inside edge 88 of the conveyor 22 are rotated downwardly away from the top 
81 of the conveyor 22 since they are attached to the synchronized common 
flight 62 which is engaged with a sprocket 64 or other drive means 45 for 
moving the common flight 62. 
FIG. 11 provides an enlarged side elevational view of a plurality of 
articles 24 having a reciprocal arm 46 (shown in cross section) being 
extracted from therebetween. In FIG. 11 various portions of the apparatus 
20 have been omitted in order to provide greater clarity in describing the 
means and function of the present invention. As shown, the carrier 50 is 
positioned substantially from the top 136 and the bottom 137 of the 
articles 24, such position in part being determined and maintained by the 
fin 138 described above. The strip of carrier material 50 assembled with 
the articles 24 as such defines a plane 143 through which the blade 100 
upwardly projects. 
With reference to FIG. 8, the carrier 50 is generally formed of a thin 
sheet material such as 0.012 to 0.016 polyethylene such that when 
apertures 53 are formed therethrough, the retaining bands 51 have a width 
dimension or band surface 144 which is greater than the thickness of the 
carrier material 50. As shown in FIG. 11, the band surface 144 lies flat 
against the outside surface 55 of the article 24 and an internal edge 146 
of the aperture 53 is oriented in an upward direction but is not 
positioned directly under the chime 147 of the article 24 as typified in 
prior art packages. 
As further shown in FIG. 11, positioning of the arm 46 between articles 24 
creates tension in the band interconnections 52. The tension in the band 
interconnections 52 is a function of the cross sectional thickness 148 of 
the arm 46. By comparing a dimension 150 between the outside surfaces 55 
of two articles 24 with the carrier material 50 assembled therewith in a 
relaxed state (no arm 46 positioned therebetween) and articles 24 having 
an arm 46 positioned therebetween, it can be seen that the articles 24 
with the arm 46 therebetween are forced apart thereby creating tension in 
the carrier strip 50 along the band interconnections 52. 
A top view of the arrangement as illustrated in FIG. 11 is shown in FIG. 
12. As shown in FIG. 12, the arm 46 is engaged with the camming track 78 
by the camming pin 76 attached to the L-shaped body portion 75. The 
camming track 78 is angled away from the path of travel 26 thereby 
extracting the arm 46 from between the groups 48 of articles 24. The 
locking tip 90 is shown as having been disengaged from the locking notch 
92 formed in the corresponding notched block 93. The blade 100 formed on 
the free end 91 of the arm 46, while being extracted perpendicular 
relative to the path of travel 26, follows an apparently angular 
extraction path as indicated by line 152. The extraction path 152 passes 
through the passage notches 142 formed in the fins 138 as noted 
hereinabove. 
As the arm 46 is extracted from between the groups of articles 48, the 
leading edge 102 of the blade 100 passes through perforated or weakened 
line 57 formed in the band interconnections 52 to separate the groups 48 
of articles 24. Tension created in the carrier material 50 at the band 
interconnections 52, by thickness 148 as noted above, promotes separation 
along the weakened lines 57 as the blade 100 moves therethrough. It is 
noted that the leading edge 102, although beveled, is not sufficiently 
sharp to cut the carrier material 50. To the contrary, the edge 102 is 
preferably blunt so as to promote a tearing or separating action rather 
than a cutting action. 
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the effect of the blade 100 attached to the 
reciprocal arm 46 moving along the weakened lines 57 formed along the band 
interconnections 52 of the carrier 50 results in unzipping groups 48 of 
articles 24. Analogus to a zipper used on clothing, the blade 100 performs 
the function of a slider which separates opposed joined structures (i.e. 
the band interconnections 52). When the arm 46 is removed from between 
groups 48 of articles 24 the blade 100 unzips the carrier material 50 
joined at the band interconnections 52. Weakening of the material by 
perforating or forming weakened lines 57 further facilitates the unzipping 
action and function of the separating means 44. 
FIG. 13 provides an enlarged perspective view of the blade 100 moving 
through the band interconnections 52 as illustrated in FIG. 12. As shown 
in FIG. 13, the band surfaces 144 lie against the outside surface 55 of 
the articles 24. Further, the internal edge 146 of the aperture 53 is 
shown in its upward orientation. Although the article 24 in the foreground 
of the perspective view has been removed to provide clarity in the 
illustration, the outside surface 55 of the article 24 in the foreground 
abuts the friction reducing material 96 on the outside of the arm 46 
placing the corresponding band interconnection 52 in tension to promote 
the unzipping or separation of the carrier material 50 along the weakened 
line 57 by the leading edge 102. 
As shown in FIG. 13, the angle 104 of the blade member 100 being generally 
equal to or less than 90.degree. does not urge the carrier upwardly as the 
arm 46 is extracted from between the groups of articles 48. The angle 104 
between the blade 100 and the arm 46 is important when the leading edge 
102 does not cut through the carrier material 50. When the leading edge 
102 separates the carrier material 50, if not for the right or acute angle 
104, the frictional forces between the leading edge 102 may become greater 
than the frictional forces between an inwardly facing surface 154 of the 
band surface 144 and the abutting outside surface 55 of the article 24 
which could cause the carrier to move upwardly out of the desired 
position. 
A group 48 of articles 24 is illustrated in FIG. 14, wherein 12 articles 
have been grouped together as a discrete package 32 of articles 24 
retained by a common portion of carrier 50. In contrast to producing 
"6-paks", such a "12-pak" can be created by selectively engaging or 
activating the cam pin 76 of every other arm 46 on the apparatus as 
arranged in FIG. 4 instead of every arm as illustrated. Alternatively, 
every other arm 46 could be removed from the common flight 62 such that 12 
articles are positioned between every two arms 46. 
While a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown and 
described, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise 
various modifications of the present invention without departing from the 
spirit and scope of the appended claims.