Apparatus for selective wrapping of products and a method thereof

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6269609
  • Patent Number
    6,269,609
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, June 15, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 7, 2001
    23 years ago
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




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




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'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.




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.




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.




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




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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





FIG. 1

is a top elevational view of a processing line for practicing a method embodying the present invention.





FIGS. 2-6

are flow charts illustrating the selective wrapping process embodying the present invention.











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




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.




A feature of the system


10


is the system'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 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.




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

.




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.




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.




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.




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


).




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




There are many different configurations of assembly lines, printer feeders, inkjet units, 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.




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.




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


).




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


.




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


.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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


.




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


.




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.




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.




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.




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.




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


).




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


).




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


).




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.




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.




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


).




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.




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


).




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.




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:




S#=Sequence Number of Magazine;




WI=Wrap Indicator, where 0 indicates that the magazine is not to be wrapped and 1 indicates that the magazine is to be wrapped;




BT=Book Type which may be identified with numbers 1-6 identifying various Book Types customized to particular customers; and




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




5




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




D




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














It should be noted that the original label file may contain additional data regarding each product than that shown.




Table II consists of the Sister Label File generated by the wrapper controller


34


(Box


48


) where:




S#′=Sister Label Sequence Number of Magazine;




WBT=Wrapper Book Type; and




(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




D




(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)














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.




Table III contains the running file generated by the wrapper controller


34


(Box


50


) where:




RFS#=Running File Sequence Number of Magazine;




PFS#=Pre-running File Sequence Number of Magazine [i.e., S# or (S#′)]; and




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




 96




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




166






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




86




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














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.




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.




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


.




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.




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.




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#'s


31


,


35


,


45


,


49


,


57


,


62


,


69


,


72


and


78


) before delivering these products to the wrapper


30


. As these RFS#'s are being delivered to the wrapper


30


, tier


90


is ready to accept the next ten products to be wrapped (RFS#'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


.




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.




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.




Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus for wrapping selected products from a plurality of products, said apparatus comprising:an in-feed conveyor for continuously moving a stream of a plurality of products along an in-feed path; a wrapper bypassing conveyor positioned along said in-feed path adapted to deliver certain selected products from said in-feed path to a further processing destination; a wrapper for individually wrapping selected products within the stream of products; a pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor including a first portion and a second portion, each of said first and second portions extends from the in-feed conveyor to the wrapper, wherein the first and second portions of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor alternatingly operate such that one of said first and second portions operates at the speed of the in-feed conveyor to receive the selected products from the in-feed conveyor and the other of said first and second portions operates at the speed of the wrapper to supply the selected products to the wrapper; a post-wrapper accumulating conveyor including a first portion and a second portion, each of said first and second portions extends from the wrapper to the wrapper bypassing conveyor, wherein the first and second portions of the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor alternatingly operate such that one of said first and second portions operates at the speed of the wrapper to receive the selected products from the wrapper and the other of said first and second portions operates at the speed of the wrapper bypassing conveyor to supply the selected products to the wrapper bypassing conveyor; and a control unit for determining in a pre-processing step which products shall be wrapped and therefore travel through said wrapper and which products shall not be wrapped and therefore travel along said wrapper bypassing conveyor.
  • 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first portion of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor is a first tier and the second portion of the pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor is a second tier.
  • 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein only one of said first and second tiers receives and collects the selected products at any given time.
  • 4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein only one of said first and second tiers conveys the selected products to the wrapper at any given time.
  • 5. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:a diverter device positioned upstream of said pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor for directing products into the appropriate first or second tier.
  • 6. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:a diverter device positioned downstream of said pre-wrapper accumulating conveyor and upstream of said wrapper for directing products into said wrapper from said appropriate first or second tier.
  • 7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said post-wrapper accumulating conveyor includes a first tier and a second tier.
  • 8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein only one of said first and second tiers receives and collects selected wrapped products at any given time.
  • 9. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein only one of said first and second tiers conveys the wrapped products to the transport conveyor at any given time.
  • 10. An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:a diverter device positioned downstream of the wrapper and upstream of the post-accumulating conveyor for directing products into the appropriate first or second tier.
  • 11. An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:a diverter device positioned downstream of the post-wrapper accumulating conveyor for directing products from the appropriate first or second tier to the transport conveyor.
US Referenced Citations (16)
Number Name Date Kind
3173557 Eliassen Mar 1965
3734264 Stumpf May 1973
4484733 Loos et al. Nov 1984
4683708 Linder Aug 1987
4959795 Christensen et al. Sep 1990
5007521 Tanaka Apr 1991
5025610 Graushar Jun 1991
5103617 Sjogren et al. Apr 1992
5113639 Bryson May 1992
5414974 Van De Ven et al. May 1995
5430994 Focke et al. Jul 1995
5630309 Blidurg et al. May 1997
5706632 Kivits et al. Jan 1998
5720157 Ross Feb 1998
6000200 Germunson et al. Dec 1999
6006491 Mache Dec 1999
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
1 231 444 May 1971 GB