PACKAGING METHOD AND APPARATUS

PURPOSE:To rapidly and surely heat deposite the peripheral edge portion of a shape maintaining sheet to a backing board, eliminating the possibility of thermally deforming the backing board by precoating the heat depositing side of the backing board with a synthetic resin of the same type as used for forming the shape maintaining sheet and by interposing a heat resistant sheet between a heater and the shape maintaining sheet. CONSTITUTION:An article 3 is packaged between a backing board 1 and a shape maintaining sheet 2 formed of a synthetic resin. The shape maintaining sheet 2 is formed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin such as polyvinyl chloride, provided with a bulged portion 6 to define an article receiving space between a peripheral edge portion 4 of the shape maintaining sheet to be hot-welded to backing board 1 and the backing board 1, and coated with the synthetic resin 5 of the same type as used to form the shape maintaining sheet. A heat die 33 of a heater 31 is positioned below the peripheral edge portion 4 of the shape maintaining sheet 2 and a pressing die 32 above the backing board 1 to hold together therebetween the backing board 1 set in a setting portion 11 with a heat resistant sheet 14 interposed between the heater 31 and shape maintaining sheet 2 and the peripheral edge portion 4 of the shape maintaining sheet 2, whereby the peripheral edge portion 4 of the shape maintaining sheet 2 is hot-welded to the synthetic resin 5 which is applied to the backing board 1, simultaneously with the intermittent driving of a turn table 9.