C.g. Bretting Manufacturing Company, Inc.

James R Michler

James Andrew Walsh

Thomas W Schneider

Jeffrey A Gendron

Martin Eder, Iii

Dennis P Couturier

Greg M Kauppila

Charles Louis Schmidt, V

Wayne G Rundell

Richard D Bretting

Timm G Retzloff

Andrew Kell Balduc

Jim Scott

David J Brauer

Tim Schramm

Brett Fredericks

Thomas J Palokangas

Timm Schramm

A bag carrying mechanism for a bag and insert combining apparatus for combining a stream of inserts with a stream of bags is provided. The bag carrying mechanism includes a plurality of bag holding arrangements operably coupled to one another for rotation about a rotational axis. Each bag holding arrangement includes first and second segments movable relative to one another and forming a receiving cavity therebetween. First and second holding features hold opposite sides of the bag within the receiving cavity and selectively hold the bag in an open position for receipt of an insert through an open end of the bag. Methods of using the bag carrying mechanism and systems incorporating the bag carrying mechanism are provided.

System, apparatus and method of placing an insert in a bag

A web processing roll for handling a web of material using vacuum is provided. The web processing roll includes a roll body. The roll body defines an outer periphery against which the web of material is held. The roll body defines a vacuum passage. At least one first vacuum hole fluidly connects to the vacuum passage provides vacuum proximate the outer periphery of the roll body to hold the web of material against the outer periphery with vacuum supplied to the at least one first vacuum hole by the vacuum passage. A first flow path of the vacuum hole extends at a first angle that is non-perpendicular to the rotational axis and is directed, at least in part, axially toward one of the first and second ends at the first outlet end of the at least one first vacuum hole.

Web processing roll having directional vacuum ports

A system for forming and wrapping a plurality of stacks of sheet like product is provided. The system includes a separator apparatus for converting a stream of spaced apart sets of stacks into a repeating stepped configuration. The system includes a mechanism for merging the stepped configuration of stacks into a single file stream of stacks. The system includes a cutoff apparatus for cutting a plastic sleeve in which the stacks are wrapped. The system includes a turner apparatus for changing the direction of travel of individual units comprising of a stack of product within a length of the sleeve 90 degrees while maintaining the orientation of the units.

High speed small pack wrapper

An apparatus and method are provided, for alternatively producing either small or bulk packs of napkins from a stack of folded napkins produced by one folding machine, through use of a pack dispatching arrangement having an inlet, a small pack transfer station and a bulk pack transfer station, and configured for operation in a small pack mode for dispatching a stream of spaced apart small packs of folded sheets separated from the stack of folded sheets, and received at an inlet of the pack dispatching arrangement, to the small pack transfer station, and alternatively operable in a bulk pack mode for dispatching a stream of spaced apart bulk packs of folded sheets separated from the stack of folded sheets, and received at an inlet of the pack dispatching arrangement, to the bulk pack transfer station.

Small and bulk pack napkin separator

An interfolder separator apparatus and method utilize a pair of count fingers that are movable longitudinally along and transversely to a stream of folded sheets, for temporarily supporting each successive pack formed by the separator and then releasing each successive pack when partly completed to alternating build fingers, so that the operation of separating successive packs from one another is performed separately from the operations of completing the build of each pack and transporting the completed packs to downstream operations. The count fingers may be mounted to pivot about axes that are movable longitudinally along and transversely to the stream of sheets. A first or last panel of the completed pack may also be folded back partly upon itself, after the partly completed pack is released by the count fingers. Some or all of the fingers may be spring loaded and automatically resettable for clearing jams.

High speed interfolder separator

A log accumulator comprising a plurality of buckets, a feed arrangement and a transport system and methods are provided. The feed arrangement loads logs onto the buckets. The transport system transports the buckets past the feed arrangement for loading of the buckets. The transport system and the feed arrangement are configured to maintain the feed arrangement in a fixed relative position with one of the buckets for an extended period of time while the feed arrangement loads the one of the buckets. The accumulator may include an unload arrangement that operates to unload logs in substantially the same manner as the feed arrangement.

High speed interfolded log accumulator

A starwheel feed apparatus and method for feeding and guiding sheets of a web material into a starwheel assembly. In some embodiments, a feeding conveyor is movable to convey sheets at a first velocity toward the starwheel, and a guiding conveyor is located adjacent the starwheel and has a conveying surface movable at a velocity less than the first velocity. In other embodiments, other relative speeds of the guiding and feeding conveyors are employed. In some embodiments, a feeding conveyor feeds sheets into slots of a starwheel, and a guiding conveyor located adjacent the starwheel has a conveying surface to guide trailing edges of the sheets along a length of the conveying surface as the sheets enter the slots.

Starwheel feed apparatus and method

An apparatus and method for creating stacks of sheets. In some embodiments, the sheets separated are those in or issuing from a starwheel assembly. The present invention includes a first separator finger that is inserted between two adjacent sheets to separate first and second sheets. The first separator finger retains the first sheet upstream to begin a first stack upstream of the first separator finger and allows the second sheet to complete another stack downstream of the first separator finger. In some embodiments, the first separator finger is inserted between the two adjacent sheets in a closed position and, after the first separator finger is inserted, the first separator finger moves to an open position to create a gap between the first and second stacks.

Apparatus and method for insertion of separating means into a forming stack of sheets discharged from a starwheel assembly

An apparatus and method for moving stacks of product discharged from a stacking device. The apparatus includes a first conveyor movable at a first speed and a second conveyor movable at a second speed. The first conveyor includes an upstream end adjacent to the stacking device. The first conveyor is positioned to receive product from the stacking device. The second conveyor includes an upstream end adjacent to the stacking device. The second conveyor is positioned to receive product from the stacking device. The running speed of the first conveyor is faster than the running speed of the second conveyor to move stacks of product on the first conveyor away from the stacking device at a faster speed than stacks of product on the second conveyor.

Apparatus and method for stacking sheets discharged from a starwheel assembly

A method and apparatus for wrapping stacks of web product with wrap web material supplied from a supply roll. The apparatus includes a conveyor for supporting and moving the stacks to be wrapped along a conveying path, a drive assembly operable to receive wrap material from the supply roll and positively feed the wrap material to the conveying path, and a wrapping assembly for manipulating the wrap material around the stack. The method includes supporting and moving the stacks to be wrapped along a conveying path, rotating a cutting roll, clean cutting the wrap material received from the supply roll to separate a wrap sheet from the wrap material, defining a trailing edge of the wrap sheet, delivering the trailing edge to the conveying path after the wrap sheet is separated from the wrap material, and manipulating the wrap sheet around the stack.

Growing community of inventors

Ashland, WI, United States of America

James R Michler