An apparatus for applying an engagement collar to a group of articles, which includes an application area defining a horizontal support surface for receiving a group of articles, a horizontal press plate positioned above the support surface and mounted for vertical movement relative to the support surface, and an actuation assembly operatively connected to the press plate for moving the press plate relative to the support surface to apply an engagement collar to the group of articles positioned on the support surface within the application area, wherein the actuation assembly includes an actuation lever that is located below the press plate and in front of the application area to provide an ergonomic work environment.

A wraparound sleeving system is provided and comprises a sleeving machine having a conveyor for transporting packaging sleeves. The packaging sleeves comprise one or more apertures for receiving a portion of one or more respective products. The sleeving machine comprises a folder for folding the sleeve so as to wrap a portion of said sleeve over or around a portion of said product after said portion of said product is received in said aperture.

An apparatus for sealing or tying products, comprising a housing with at least a first tape dispenser and a star wheel, a slot defined by or through the housing, wherein the star wheel extends at least partly in said slot, wherein the star wheel comprises a series of first cells and a series of second cells, the first and second cells being intermittently disposed in the star wheel, each cell being open to a periphery of the star wheel and two opposite sides thereof, wherein an urging device is provided having at least one edge portion for urging at least one product to be tied into one of the cells, especially a first cell.

A fastener for releasably securing a flexible liner about the peripheral rim of a supporting receptacle has a generally planar body with a first leg and an interconnected second leg defining an inwardly tapered elongated space therebetween. An offset and elongated rotation handle carried at one end portion of the body opposite the first and second legs facilitates rotating the body axially about an axis of rotation to wind a portion of an edge portion of the flexible liner about the two legs, and a portion of the rotation handle releasable engages with the tensioned liner to prevent the unwinding of the flexible liner.

A product unpacking system includes a work surface at a first height and a product unloading position at a second height. An adjustable cutter is positioned adjacent to the work surface and configured to cut a plurality of sides of each case. A case movement device, such as a robot or manual mover, is configured to retrieve a case from a group of cases and move the case to the cutter to cut a plurality of sides of the case. The case movement device may then move the cut case to an unload position over a product container to allow products within the case to drop into the product container. A system of conveyors may be used to convey empty product containers toward the work surface and to convey filled product containers away from the work surface. The system may be automated to receive recipe information for each case to be unloaded and modify parameters of the system based on the case.

A device for applying a flexible carrier to a plurality of containers includes a base with a plurality of pockets and an indexing means and a carrier having a series of indexing features that correspond with the indexing means for placement of the carrier relative to the base, wherein a container may be inserted into one of the plurality of pockets of the base for desired alignment within the carrier.

A device for applying a flexible carrier to a plurality of containers includes a base with a plurality of pockets and an indexing means and a carrier having a series of indexing features that correspond with the indexing means for placement of the carrier relative to the base, wherein a container may be inserted into one of the plurality of pockets of the base for desired alignment within the carrier.

A method for constructing a packaging and displaying assembly utilizes a hand held punch or other punching device equipped with a specially designed template and a strip of card stock that is dimensioned to hold and display the item for sale. The template produces two cutouts in the top of the strip which is thereafter folded down to form a flap leaving upright a rounded tab with a centered opening. The item for sale may be affixed directly to the card stock under the flap or placed within a transparent envelope that is similarly affixed to the card stock. The resulting package with the item clearly visible is placed onto a display bar by threading the bar through the centered opening. The card stock may contain informative or decorative indicia to make the packages appealing for sale.

A method for constructing a packaging and displaying assembly utilizes a hand held punch or other punching device equipped with a specially designed template and a strip of card stock that is dimensioned to hold and display the item for sale. The template produces two cutouts in the top of the strip which is thereafter folded down to form a flap leaving upright a rounded tab with a centered opening. The item for sale may be affixed directly to the card stock under the flap or placed within a transparent envelope that is similarly affixed to the card stock. The resulting package with the item clearly visible is placed onto a display bar by threading the bar through the centered opening. The card stock may contain informative or decorative indicia to make the packages appealing for sale.

A combination food pad container and dispenser can be constructed from the following components. A sealed elongated container is provided. The container is formed of flexible film material and has at least one surrounding wall, a closed top and a closed bottom and at least one mounting aperture. The aperture is located adjacent the top. The container is sized and shaped to slidably surround a plurality of horizontally stacked food pads. The pads have at least one planar surface. The surrounding wall has at least one openable perforation. The perforation is orthogonal to the planar surface. The perforation has at least one arresting feature. The arresting feature provides an intermediate point for controlling initial opening of the perforation. A single rigid member is provided within the dispenser with the food pads disposed opposite the at least one openable perforation. The rigid member maintains the dispenser in a free-standing vertical orientation.