Tape perforating head assembly and method

A method of scoring a tear line in a piece of packaging tape placed across at least two adjacent carriers formed into a single package and being moved along a path of travel through a packaging machine, said method comprising the steps of:

• positioning a headpiece, the headpiece having a plurality of parallel perforating blades reciprocably supported thereon, adjacent the path of travel;
• independently biasing each of said plurality of blades away from said headpiece into a normally extended position with respect to said headpiece;
• moving said headpiece in timed relationship with the movement of the carriers along the path of travel;
• moving said plurality of perforating blades into contact with the packaging tape holding the adjacent carriers together;
• independently moving separate ones of said plurality of blades inwardly of said headpiece and out of said normally extended position in response to striking the article carriers;
• and
• scoring the perforated tear line in the packaging tape extending between the at least two carriers with one of said plurality of perforating blades.

A method of scoring a perforated tear line in a first piece of packaging tape extended across a first side, and in a second piece of packaging tape extended across a spaced second side, respectively, of a predetermined number of adjacent article carriers formed into a single package and being moved along a path of travel through a packaging machine, said method comprising the steps of:

• positioning a first headpiece, said first headpiece having a first plurality of parallel perforating blades reciprocably supported thereon, adjacent the path of travel;
• independently biasing each one of said first plurality of perforating blades into an extended position with respect to said headpiece;
• moving said first headpiece in timed relationship with the movement of the carriers along the path of travel;
• engaging the first piece of packaging tape extending across the first side of the article carriers with said first plurality of perforating blades;
• scoring the perforated tear line in the first piece of packaging tape on the first side of the carriers with one of said first plurality of perforating blades;
• and
• independently urging the other ones of said first plurality of perforating blades inwardly of said first headpiece in response to striking the first sides of the article carriers.

A method of taping a series of article carriers together into a single package, and of scoring a perforated tear line in a packaging tape used to hold the carriers together, on a packaging machine, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving the series of article carriers along a path of travel through the packaging machine;
• positioning at least two of the carriers adjacent one another along the path of travel;
• applying at least one piece of packaging tape across the sides of the at least two carriers and holding the at least two carriers together in response thereto;
• positioning at least one headpiece, the headpiece having a plurality of parallel perforating blades reciprocably supported thereon, adjacent the path of travel;
• moving said at least one headpiece in timed relationship with the movement of the at least two carriers along the path of travel;
• engaging said at least one piece of packaging tape with said plurality of perforating blades;
• scoring the perforated tear line in said at least one piece of packaging tape between the at least two article carriers with one of said plurality of perforating blades in response thereto;
• and
• independently moving the others of said plurality of perforating blades inwardly of said headpiece in response to striking the respective sides of the at least two carriers.