Packaging apparatus

A packaging apparatus packaging an article to be packaged by covering the article to be packaged with a film held at a peripheral edge portion thereof and stretched and overlapping the peripheral edge portion of the film below the article to be packaged, the packaging apparatus comprising:

• a first holding unit configured to hold the peripheral edge portion of the film on a front side;
• a second holding unit provided to be opposed to the first holding unit and configured to hold the peripheral edge portion of the film on a rear side;
• a lifting unit configured to carry the article to be packaged and press the article to be packaged to the film held and stretched by the first holding unit and the second holding unit;
• a folding unit configured to fold the peripheral edge portion of the film on the rear side to which the article to be packaged has been pressed by the lifting unit into an underside of the article to be packaged;
• and
• an extruding unit configured to extrude to the front side the article to be packaged having the peripheral edge portion of the film on the rear side folded under the article to be packaged by the folding unit, wherein
• the first holding unit moves to decrease tension of the held film after the peripheral edge portion of the film on the rear side starts to be folded into the underside of the article to be packaged by the folding unit before the extruding unit starts to extrude the article to be packaged from the rear side to the front side.