Insertion of draw tape strips in draw tape bag manufacture

An apparatus for inserting a flat continuous strip of pliable material into a hem of a centrally longitudinally folded continuous web being fed uninterruptedly in a longitudinal direction of the web across a plane defined by a pair of parallel superposed panels forming the web, the hem being formed on one of the two superposed panels by inwardly folding a longitudinal free edge portion of the panel between the two superposed panels and against a connected facing intermediate portion of the one panel comprising:

• means for feeding the continuous web in a longitudinal direction along a plane;
• a fixed frame member;
• a first elongated plate member mounted to the frame member and having a pair of opposing major planar surfaces substantially parallel to said plane, the plate member extending from an initial end mounted to said frame member transversely to said longitudinal direction of the web to an extreme end so as to extend between the superposed panels and span the hem, the elongated plate member further having at its said extreme end a first turning means substantially parallel with said longitudinal direction of the web for reversing the direction of a flat continuous pliable strip fed along one of said pair of major planar surface to the remaining major planar surface;
• means for feeding a flat continuous, pliable strip to one of the major planar surfaces of the first elongated member near the initial end;
• and
• a second plate member having a pair of outer, opposing major planar surfaces substantially parallel to said plane and affixed to the first elongated plate member near its extreme end, one of the two major planar surfaces of the second plate facing the remaining planar surface of the elongated member, the second plate member extending from a position near said extreme end toward said initial end of the elongated member sufficiently so as to at least partially overlap the hem, the two plate members being separated so as to provide a gap between said remaining surface of the elongated member and a facing outer planar surface of the second plate member for receiving said inwardly turned portion of the hem of the web, the second plate member further having an opening extending between its outer major planar surfaces with a second straight turning edge oriented approximately 45.degree. to both said longitudinal direction of the web and said transverse direction of the first elongated plate member for receiving the flat continuous pliable strip from said first turning means and folding the flat continuous pliable strip from said transverse direction to said longitudinal direction and feeding the strip out within said hem.

A method of inserting a flat continuous strip of pliable material into a hem formed by turning between a pair of superposed, continuous, elongated panels forming a continuous, elongated web, one elongated edge portion of the one panel against a facing, intermediate portion of the one panel, comprising the steps of:

• feeding the superposed panels in a longitudinal direction;
• feeding a flat continuous pliable strip transversely to the longitudinal direction of the web and along a first plane between the superposed panels and across the hem;
• reversing the direction of the strip between the superposed panels;
• transversely feeding the reversed strip along a second plane substantially parallel to and transversely displaced from the first plane and between the turned in edge portion and the facing portion of the one panel;
• folding said strip within the hem from said transverse direction to said longitudinal direction;
• and
• feeding the longitudinally directed folding strip along a third plane substantially parallel with and displaced from said first and second planes into the hem.

A method of inserting a flat continuous strip of pliable material into a hem formed in one of a pair of superposed elongated panels forming a continuous elongated web, the hem being formed along one side of the web by inwardly turning an edge portion of the one panel along said one side of the web between the two said panels and against an intermediate portion of the same one panel and comprising the steps of:

• feeding the continuous web in a longitudinal direction;
• separating the inwardly turned edge portion and intermediate portion of the one panel forming the hem;
• separating the two superposed panels;
• feeding a flat continuous pliable strip along a first plane transversely between the separated panels and across the hem from an initial position outside the one side of the web to an extreme position between the panels;
• reversing the direction of the fed strip;
• transversely feeding the reversed strip along a second plane substantially parallel to and transversely displaced from the first plane from said extreme position between the panels to an intermediate position between the separated, inwardly turned and intermediate portions of the one panel;
• folding the reversed strip from said transverse direction to said longitudinal direction within the hem;
• and
• longitudinally feeding the turned strip along a third plane substantially parallel to and transversely displaced from said first and second planes into the hem.