FLAT TURRET WRAPPING MACHINE

The apparatus includes means for providing an article having a sheet of wrapping material draped therearound so that the ends of the sheet project outwardly from one side and along opposing edges of the article. The draped article is moved along a path past a folding work station. The folding work station includes means for folding one of the projecting ends of the sheet underneath the other projecting end in an overlapped relationship on one side of the article. The wrapping material is then sealed along the overlapped ends of the wrapper sheet. The specific embodiments include a particular lifting mechanism used at the folding work station. When heat-sealable wrapping material is used, a heating assembly is disposed at a heat sealing work station. A flat turret chain incorporating a plurality of pockets for receiving the packages to be wrapped is used to move the draped articles along the path.