Apparatus and method for folding a sheet of foil
AssigneeBrian Peter Dunn
InventorsRichard Brian Dunn, Brian Dunn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus (20) for folding a sheet of foil (11) includes a feeder (23) and a folding means (24). The feeder (23) can feed a sheet of foil to the folding means (24). The folding means (24) includes a first surface (27) and a second surface (28) which can be arranged to bear against first and second opposing faces respectively of a portion (31) of the sheet of foil (11) at or near to the leading edge (11′) of the sheet of foil. One or both of the first and second surfaces (27,28) can be rotated about a foldable axis between the first and second opposing faces to create a first fold along the foldable axis.
Claims31
An apparatus for folding a sheet of foil, the apparatus comprising:
- a feeder for feeding the sheet of foil to a folding means, the folding means comprising
- a first surface and a second surface arranged to bear against first and second opposing faces respectively of a portion of the sheet of foil at or near to the leading edge of the sheet of foil, wherein one or both of said first and second surfaces are rotatable about a foldable axis between the first and second opposing faces to create a first fold along the foldable axis.
An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first and second surfaces can be rotated to create multiple folds at or near to the leading edge of the sheet of foil.
An apparatus as claimed in 5 wherein the first and second surfaces can be rotated through a further 180 degrees or more.
An apparatus as claimed in any of preceding claim wherein the first and second surfaces are withdrawable from the sheet.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a guide member which prevents lateral movement of the foil during the folding.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising cutting means to cut a trailing edge of the portion of foil.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising receiving means for receiving the portion of foil after the folding.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising removal means for removing the portion of the foil sheet from the folding means.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising flattening means which in use can be brought into engagement with the folded end of the foil to flatten the fold or folds.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising scoring means which, in use, can be used to score the first and/or second face of the foil sheet between the folded end and the trailing edge.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising marking means for marking one or both of the opposing faces of the portion of foil with one or more identification marks.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first and second surfaces are rigid.
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first and second surfaces are substantially planar.
A method for folding a sheet of foil, the method comprising:
- providing an apparatus as defined in any preceding claim.
An apparatus substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A method substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.