Apparatus for placing corner protectors and top protectors on palletized loads

摘要

Apparatus for wrapping a load in film material is provided with magazines of vertically oriented corner protectors, each associated with a corner of the load, and from which a corner protector is withdrawn and transferred to cover the corresponding corner of the load prior to wrapping the latter with plastic film material. The magazines comprise a pair of vertically spaced apart conveyor belts which feed the corner protectors to a discharge end of the magazine, and a pick-up and transfer arm pivotal about a single arm axis transfers a corner protector from the magazine through an arc of 135 DEG which aligns the corner protector for movement into engagement with the corner of the load. The apparatus further includes a shuttle mechanism including a pick-up and transfer assembly for moving a top protector from a supply station onto the top of the load, and the pick-up and transfer assembly includes finger plates each of which is pivotal about a corresponding axis to initial bend a marginal edge portion of the top protector downwardly relative to the top edges of the load, and each of which finger plates is horizontally reciprocable to complete the bending of the marginal edge portions against the sides of the load.