Machine for packing a load in a section of sheath made of supple material such as a film of plastics material

A machine for packing a load in a section of sheath, comprising:

• means for supplying flat sheaths to said load;
• separator means for opening the front end of said sheath and separating said sheath into sections by and about said load;
• a pleating device for progressively pleating part of each section which includes:
• a covering frame shaped to fit about said load for supporting a pleated section of sheath, a support independent of said frame, support means adapted to fit inside said sheath;
• rotatable pleating members mounted on said support and pressing said sheath and said support means;
• mobile pleating arms and means for introducing said arms inside said section of sheath and for applying said arms against said pleating members and for retracting said arms after the pleating operation;
• means for moving said frame along said load to unpleat said section during this movement and to position said section around said load;
• and
• means for causing a correlative translational movement parallel to the pleating arms between the pleating members and the pleating arms during formation of said pleats.

A machine for packing a load in a flexible sheath, comprising:

• means for supplying flat sheath to said load;
• separator means for opening the front end of said sheath and separating said sheath into sections by and about said load;
• a pleating device for progressively pleating part of each section which includes:
• a covering frame shaped to fit about said load for supporting a pleated section of sheath, a support independent of said frame;
• support means adapted to fit inside said sheath;
• rotatable pleating members mounted on said support and pressing against said sheath and said support means;
• mobile pleating arms and means for introducing said arms inside said section of sheath and for applying said arms against said pleating members and for retracting said arms after the pleating operation;
• means for moving said frame along said load to unpleat said section during this movement and to position said section around said load, said machine having in each corner two pleating rollers mounted on perpendicular axes and coupled together by a pair of bevel gears, two plane faces abutting against said rollers and against pleating ramps borne by the associated pleating arm;
• each of said pleating arm being pivoted above an horizontal axis and controlled by a jack through a connecting mechanism for converting the translational movement of the rod of the jack into a rotational movement of said arm;
• each pleating arm having a relatively narrow end part and a relatively wide part near the pivoting axis thereof, said parts being connected by an outwardly inclined ramp and forming stops for the downstream end of said section of said sheath.