reeves

Claim 1

A WRAPPING MACHINE COMPRISING A CONVEYOR BELT FOR CARRYING A PLURALITY OF SPACED SHEETS OF WRAPPING MATERIAL, MEANS ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR BELT FOR FOLDING THE EDGES OF THE SHEETS INWARDLY INTO OVERLYING RELATION, AND MEANS OVERLYING THE CONVEYOR BELT FOR ENGAGING THE END OF THE FOLDED SHEETS AND CAUSING THE END TO MOVE IN A SPIRAL MANNER FOR SPIRALLY ROLLING THE FOLDED SHEET, SAID END SPIRALLING MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF CURVED FINGERS, SAID FINGERS HAVING A CONCAVE EDGE SURFACE FACING THE FOLDED SHEET, SAID CONVEYOR BELT HAVING RECESSES IN THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF RECEIVING THE FINGERS WHEREBY THE FOLDED SHEET MAY RIDE UP ONTO THE CONCAVE SURFACE FOR STARTING A SPIRAL, MEANS OSCILLATING THE FINGERS IN SYNCHRONIZATION WITH THE SPACING OF THE SHEETS ON THE CONVEYOR BELT THEREBY ELEVATING THE FINGERS TO AN INOPERATIVE POSITION AFTER THE SPIRALLING OF THE FOLDED SHEET HAS BEGUN, A FLEXIBLE PLATE ATTACHED TO THE FINGERS, A ROUGHENED UNDERSURFACED ON SAID PLATE, SAID FLEXIBLE PLATE ENGAGING THE PARTIALLY ROLLED SHEET AND TENDING TO HOLD THE TOP PORTION OF THE PARTIALLY ROLLED SHEET WHILE THE CONVEYOR BELT MOVES THE LOWER PORTION THEREBY COMPLETING THE SPIRALLING OF THE SHEET.