Patent ID: 7549273

Claim:
A method for automatically assembling a wrapper to an outer surface of a pre-made foam cup to form a wrapped foam cup, the method comprising: 1) automatically supplying a pre-made expanded foam cup on a rotatable mandrel having an axis of rotation and freely rotatable about the axis of rotation; 2) automatically supplying a wrapper sized to be wrapped about an exterior of the foam cup on a rotatable platen having an axis of rotation; 3) heating the wrapper to a temperature where the wrapper will bond to the exterior of the foam cup; 4) automatically wrapping the wrapper about the exterior of the foam cup by rotating the platen about its axis of rotation into contact with the foam cup to effect the free rotation of the mandrel about its axis of rotation to roll the foam cup over the surface of the platen to wrap the wrapper on the platen about the exterior of the foam cup; 5) repeating steps 1-4 multiple times to form multiple wrapped cups; and 6) automatically assembling at least some of the multiple wrapped cups into a group suitable for subsequent handling.