| 摘要 |
<p>The invention relates to an apparatus (10; 110; 210) for and a method of processing articles. The apparatus comprises: (i) a major processing route (58; 158; 258); (ii) a minor processing route (60; 160; 260); (iii) one or more workstations (B1, B2, B3, B4) positioned along the major processing route for sequentially acting upon articles transported through that major processing route to create a first work product (30; 130); and (iv) one or more workstations (B4, B5, B6) positioned along the minor processing route for sequentially acting upon articles transported through that minor processing route to create a second work product (254). The apparatus comprises a common workstation (B4) that is positioned on both the major and minor processing routes. The common workstation is operable to act upon articles transported through both the major processing route and the minor processing route such that said major and said minor processing routes intersect. Preferably the apparatus is for packaging one or more primary packaged articles (A) into secondary packages (30; 130) (first work product) and for collating a plurality of secondary packages into tertiary packages (254) (second work product). The minor processing route comprises a second conveyor operable to transport articles along a linear circuit between a workstation positioned at the start of the minor processing route and a workstation positioned at the finish of the minor processing route.</p> |
