MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SACHETS TO ARTICLES The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for attaching sachets to articles. A particular application is to the attachment of plant food sachets to wrapped bunches of flowers ; for this, the present invention can usefully be used in combination with flower wrapping machinery of the type described in our earlier patent application no. WO 01/10634 al. However, the uses of the present invention are not limited to flower wrapping, and extend for example to the attachment of sachets of food flavourings or sauces to take-away food containers.

Traditionally, plant food sachets have been attached using conventional plastic sticky tape. In many cases the tape used to bind the base of the wrap also secures the sachet. The bunch of flowers in typically wrapped in a cone-shaped wrap of paper or similar material. The most common practice is to gather the base of the wrap by hand and the orbit a tape reel by hand around the gathered flower stems, wrap, and sachet. Van den Berg has developed a machine that binds the sachet at the gathered base using elasticated cord, while Arnie BV have a mechanism that orbits a tape reel around a presented bouquet in a similar manner to the manual technique just described.

The present system, in its preferred form, has important advantages over the known techniques described above. In the known sachet attachment methods, the sachet is secured at the base of the bouquet. The sachet is therefore not visible at the point of sale. It is to the seller's advantage to have the sachet visible, so that the fact that it is included on the product is evident to the public. The present method of sachet application allows the sachet to be secured in substantially any location on the wrap. The flower vendor can therefore locate the sachets in a readily visible location on the wraps.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved technique for applying sachets such as plant food sachets to articles such as wrapped bunched of flowers.

According to the invention there is provided a sachet applicator machine characterized by means for moving a connected sequence of sachets along a transport path having a first station where adhesive is applied to the sachets and a second station where the position of the sachets is sensed and the sachets are separated from each other. Preferably a double-sided sticky tape is applied to the sequence of sachets at the first location with the separating paper being diverted from the transport path before the second station.

A sachet applicator machine embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which : Fig. 1 shows the general principles of the machine ; Fig. 2 shows the sachet position sensing; Fig. 3 shows the sachet transfer mechanism ; Fig. 4 shows the sachet attachment mechanism; and Fig. 5 is a general view of the machine.

The main feature of the present flower food applicator is the addition of an adhesive tape or directly applied adhesive to the sachet prior to the application of the sachet to the flower bouquet wrapper. The mechanism facilitates the application of an adhesive to the face of a sachet prior to its attachment to the product.

The preferred method is by application of double-sided tape and the subsequent removal of its waxed backing strip prior to cutting the sachets from the strip on which they are presented and the placement of that sachet by mechanical means. Alternatively, the adhesive can be applied by direct application, i. e. spray

or roller, by the manufacturer of the sachet or by the machine applying the sachet.

Additionally, the adhesive and its method of application can be chosen to suit the customer's (user's) adhesion requirements, i. e. permanent bond, easy peel, re- apply, etc.

The sachets are initially in the form of a continuous strip, and they have to be separated by the machine. The cutting system associated with an adhesive backed sachet has to cut the sachets apart while resisting adhesion to the cutting device. The present machine uses a hot wire technique, though blades and other devices could be used.

Fig. 1 shows the principle of the machine. A sachet strip 10 consisting of a sequence of sachets 11 connected together passes from right to left. A roll of double-sided sticky tape 12 is mounted adjacent to the strip 10, and the sticky tape 13 is led from off the roll 12 to a station 15 where the tape is pressed against the strip of sachets by a roller 14 to adhere to the upper side of the strip.

The double-sided sticky tape roll consists of a long strip of double-sided sticky tape rolled up with adjacent turns separated by a long strip of waxed paper or the like which prevents the turns of sticky tape from sticking together. The tape 13 is taken from the roll together with the waxed paper strip, which is on the upper side of the tape. At a station 16, the waxed paper strip 19 is separated from the sticky tape, passing round a roller 18, and is rolled up on a waste roll 20.

The strip of sachets 11 with the attached sticky tape continues past station 16 to a station 17, where a cutter 21 cuts the strip between sachets. The result is that individual separate sachets 11'emerge from the station 17, each sachet having a length of double-sided sticky tape attached to it. The sachets can then be attached to suitable articles, such as food cartons or wrapped bunches of flowers, by having the exposed side of the attached section of double-sided sticky tape pressed against the articles.

In order to separate the sachets satisfactorily, the cutting system has to be synchronized with the position or movement of the sachets. Generally, optical sensors are used to detect most printed items such as sachets. A printed marker often allows a sensor to trigger a cutter at the appropriate moment to separate the individual sachets with an even seam on each. The present machine is intended to work with different sachet manufacturers'products. While the mechanism can be operated from a sensor as just described, in fact the present machine uses a roller thickness sensor.

Fig. 2 shows the sachet position sensing station 25, which forms a part (not shown) of the cutting station 17 of Fig. 1. A roller 26 is supported on a pair of arms 27 attached to a shaft 28 pivoted on a pair of bearings 29. A sensing plate 30 is mounted on the arms 27 close to the roller 26, and a sensor 31 is mounted below the plate 30 and detects the height of the plate. As the sachets 11 pass beneath the roller 26, so the roller rises and falls. Hence the position of the sachets is continuously sensed, and the cutter 21 in the cutting station 17 can be triggered to cut the strip 10 of sachets 11 between adjacent sachets.

In the present machine, the sachets are fed from a container below the applicator. This has the advantage that, for sachets whose contents are fluid, those contents can be consistently contained in the bottom of each sachet's bag.

(By"fluid", we mean powdery or liquid contents which can move around inside the sachet relatively easily and so fall to the bottom of the sachet under their own weight.) This improves the precision of the sachet position sensing in the machine. The great advantage of this system is that it can deal with any sachet length, automatically adjusting to cut in the correct position between each of the sachet margins.

If the contents of the sachets are viscous, then a suitable choice of roller pressure may have the effect of urging or squeezing those contents towards the

trailing end of the sachet. This will help to ensure consistent cutting of sachets with such contents. Alternatively, separate means may be provided upstream of the sensing roller to position the contents in this way.

Fig. 3 is a partial view of the machine with the nearest side plate removed.

(In fact, Fig. 3 shows a slightly variant form of machine which is vertically reversed compared to the Figs. 1 and 2 machine, so that the waxed paper strip, for example, passes over roller 18 and is taken away downwardly to its take-up reel.) The cutter station 17 includes a hot wire 35 which makes the cuts, together with a suitable mechanism for raising and lowering the wire. A vacuum pick-up head 36, carried on a transport mechanism 37, engages with the sachets 11 (on the side opposite the sticky tape) as they are cut free from the strip 10.

Fig. 4 is a further partial view of the machine of Fig. 3. This shows the manner in which a sachet, as it is cut from the strip, is picked up by the vacuum head, and then rotated and advanced for placement on a bouquet wrapping machine for attachment to a wrapped bouquet of flowers.

Fig. 5 is a further general view of the machine of Fig. 3. The strip of sachets enters the machine via a guide chute 40, and the sticky tape from the tape reel 12 passes through a slot 41 to meet the strip of sachets. The waxed paper strip is wound on the reel 20, which is tensioned by a tensioner 42. The strip of sachets is driven by a belt drive 43, which of course engages the opposite side of the strip to the sticky tape.

In the claims, all references in parentheses to technical features are references within the meaning of Rule 29 (7) of the EPO Rules, whether the reference are to individual features within specific figures or to complete figures, and are not to be taken as implying reliance on those features within the meaning of Rule 29 (6).