Patent ID: 6921359

Claim:
A system comprising a packaging machine, a zipper processing machine, and a zipper material that travels first through said zipper processing machine and then through said packaging machine, wherein: said zipper material comprises a first zipper strip interlocked with a second zipper strip; said packaging machine comprises a joining station whereat a respective portion of said first zipper strip is joined to a respective portion of a packaging material during a first portion of each work cycle, and means for advancing said respective portion of said packaging material during a second portion but not said first portion of each work cycle, each advance being equal in distance to N package lengths, where N is a positive integer greater than unity; and said zipper processing machine comprises a slider insertion device upstream of said joining station and a zipper accumulator for accumulating some of said zipper material in a zone between said slider insertion device and said joining station while a portion of said zipper material at said joining station is stationary.