Sealing machine
AssigneePitney Bowes Inc.
InventorRobert Eugene Kleid
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic machine which utilizes sealing tape to seal the edges of a folded article passing therethrough. The machine is so designed that articles which do not require sealing pass through unimpeded. Other articles are sealed by one or more cylindrically-shaped tape applying heads, to each of which there is fed a supply of sealing tape, in combination with folded apparatus. At the appropriate time each of the taping heads is caused to advance against the article to be sealed, causing a portion of the tape to stick to the article. The taping head revolves slightly under the influence of the moving article and then comes to an abrupt halt, breaking the tape. The folding apparatus holds the non-adhered portion of the detached tape around the edge to be sealed and into engagement with the opposite side of the article.
Claims8
Apparatus for sealing an article of folded sheet material having opposite side surfaces and a pair of substantially aligned edges to be sealed, which comprises:
- means for moving said article along a predetermined path of travel;
- tape applying means including a rotatable taping head;
- said taping head having a substantially cylindrical surface which is normally spaced from said article;
- a supply of sealing tape having a non-adhesive major surface and an adhesive major surface;
- means for partially wrapping said sealing tape on said taping head to dispose the non-adhesive surface in contact with the taping head surface and expose the adhesive surface;
- means for moving the taping head and thus the tape wrapped thereon toward and away from said article to adhere a portion of a length of wrapped tape to one side of said article;
- means for holding non-adhered wrapped tape against said taping head, whereby the movement of the article to which said tape length is adhered commences rotating said taping head;
- means for detaching said length of tape from said head including means for abruptly halting rotation of the taping head, whereby said moving article breaks said adhered length of tape away from non-adhered wrapped tape;
- and means for folding said length of tape around said aligned edges and into adherence with the opposite side surface of said article thereby sealing said aligned edges.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.