Claims
- 1. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
- providing a potted plant having an exterior surface;
- automatically applying a cover about the exterior surface of the potted plant to form a covered potted plant;
- providing an automatic sleeving means for automatically applying a sleeve to the covered potted plant;
- conveying the potted plant to the automatic sleeving means; and
- automatically applying a sleeve about the covered potted plant by non-manually directionally orienting the covered potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved covered article.
- 2. The method of claim 1 comprising after the step of providing the potted plant the additional step of sorting the potted plant into one of at least two grades in accordance with a predetermined grading criterion.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs before the step of applying the cover.
- 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs after the step of applying the cover.
- 5. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant comprises using automatic sorting means to sort the potted plant.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the cover is a preformed cover having an interior surface, an exterior surface, and an interior space adjacent and surrounded by the interior surface.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein in the step of applying the cover to the potted plant, the potted plant is automatically deposited into the interior space of the cover.
- 8. The method of claim 6 wherein in the step of applying the cover, the cover is a preformed cover provided by automatic cover supplying means which retrieves the cover from a set of preformed covers and places the cover in a potted plant application position.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of applying a cover is preceded by the step of providing a cover which has been formed by a mold type cover forming means, wherein after the cover is formed, the cover is placed in an application position for application to the potted plant.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of applying a cover further comprises bonding the cover to the exterior surface of the potted plant.
- 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of conveying the potted plant further comprises conveying the potted plant on automatic conveying means.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the automatic conveying means further comprises a conveyor belt.
- 13. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
- providing a potted plant having an exterior surface;
- applying a cover about the exterior surface of the potted plant to form a covered potted plant;
- providing an automatic sleeving means for automatically applying a sleeve to the covered potted plant;
- conveying the potted plant to the automatic sleeving means; and
- automatically applying a sleeve about the covered potted plant by non-manually directionally orienting the covered potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved covered potted plant.
- 14. The method of claim 13 comprising after the step of providing the potted plant the additional step of sorting the potted plant into one of at least two grades in accordance with a predetermined grading criterion.
- 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs before the step of applying the cover.
- 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs after the step of applying the cover.
- 17. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of applying the cover about the potted plant is preceded by conveying the potted plant via a conveying means to a cover applying station wherein the cover is applied about the potted plant.
- 18. The method of claim 13 wherein the cover is a preformed cover having an interior surface, an exterior surface, and an interior space adjacent and surrounded by the interior surface.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein in the step of applying the cover to the potted plant, the potted plant is automatically deposited into the interior space of the cover.
- 20. The method of claim 18 wherein in the step of applying the cover to the potted plant, the potted plant is manually deposited into the interior space of the cover.
- 21. The method of claim 18 wherein in the step of applying the cover, the cover is a preformed cover provided by automatic cover supplying means which retrieves the cover from a set of preformed covers and places the cover in an application position.
- 22. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of applying a cover is preceded by the step of providing a cover which has been formed by a mold type cover forming means, wherein after the cover is formed, the cover is placed in an application position for application to the potted plant.
- 23. The method of claim 13 wherein in the step of applying the cover to the potted plant, the cover is applied about the exterior surface of the potted plant by an appressing cover forming means which appresses a sheet of material about the external surface of the potted plant to form the cover.
- 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the cover forming means comprises a plurality of pivoting members which act together to appress the sheet of material about the external surface of the potted plant.
- 25. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of applying a cover further comprises bonding the cover to the exterior surface of the potted plant.
- 26. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of applying a cover further comprises bonding the cover to the exterior surface of the potted plant.
- 27. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of conveying the potted plant further comprises conveying the potted plant on automatic conveying means.
- 28. The method of claim 27 wherein the automatic conveying means further comprises a conveyor belt.
- 29. The method of claim 13 comprising the additional step of sealing an upper portion of the sleeve of the sleeved covered potted plant.
- 30. The method of claim 13 further comprising the additional step of providing a transfer means for engaging the sleeved covered plant and placing the sleeved covered plant into a carton.
- 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the transfer means further comprises an automatic pushing means.
- 32. The method of claim 30 wherein the transfer means further comprises an automatic gripping means.
RELATED REFERENCES
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/720,961, filed Oct. 10, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,628, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/462,332 filed Jun. 5, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,029, which is a division of U.S. Ser. No. 08/417,477 filed Apr. 5, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,425, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/954,635, filed Sep. 30, 1992, now abandoned.
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Entry |
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Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
417477 |
Apr 1995 |
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Continuations (3)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
720961 |
Oct 1996 |
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Parent |
462332 |
Jun 1995 |
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Parent |
954635 |
Sep 1992 |
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