Wrapping apparatus

Abstract

A wrapping apparatus applies a wrapping medium to an annular article such as a coil of a metal strip, to cover the inner surface as well as the outer surfaces thereof. The apparatus includes a rigid loop structure defining an endless T-sectioned track, and extends as a cantilever extending from a free standing columnar support. The support includes an elevator device for raising and lowering the loop structure. The loop structure includes a hinged gate portion that may be moved to an open position to enable the track to be linked with the annular article, and then reclosed. A self-propelled shuttle moves around the track and carries a dispensing device and a prestretching device that hold wrapping medium and enable the medium to be removed from the coil. A trolley with two power driven rollers continuously reorients the article as wrapping proceeds. A take-up accumulator device is disposed on the shuttle, and includes a plurality of fixedly positioned training rollers, a plurality of yieldably positioned training rollers, and a pneumatic loading device which resiliently loads the yieldably positioned rollers away from the fixedly positioned rollers, so as to maintain tension in the wrapping media.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.