WO2009135265A1

WO2009135265A1 - Tubular netting applicator

Info

Publication number: WO2009135265A1
Application number: PCT/AU2009/000573
Authority: WO
Inventors: William George Reid; Robert George Reid
Original assignee: William George Reid; Robert George Reid
Priority date: 2008-05-07
Filing date: 2009-05-07
Publication date: 2009-11-12

Abstract

An apparatus capable of applying a length of a tubular netting (T) over an article, comprising an expander element (23), a carrier (25) and a cutter (27), said expander element supported to receive tubular netting (19) from a source, the expander having a first end (35) and a second end (37) and being of divergent cross section from the first end to the second end, the second end having a cross sectional area substantially corresponding to the maximum cross sectional area of the article, the expander element being located such that the second end is proximate the article, the carrier being supported to be movable between a first position adjacent the second end and a second position located adjacent the portion of the article remote from the expander element, a first actuator arranged and configured to cause the movement of the carrier between the first and second positions, the carrier having gripping elements (43) arranged and configured to be able to engage with the netting on movement of the carrier from the first position to the second position and to be disengaged from the netting on movement of the carrier from the second position to the first position, the cutter positioned to cause transverse movement of the cutter between the second end and the article to sever the netting subsequent to the netting being applied over the article.

Description

"Tubular Netting Applicator"

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a method and apparatus devised to apply a length of a tubular membrane over an article.

Throughout the specification and claims the term netting shall be taken as including any suitable form of membrane fabric, mesh or netting or a similar material which is capable of being resiliently expanded.

Background of the Invention

A particular application of the invention relates to the application of a measured length of a resiliently expandable tubular netting over objects where said netting comes from a continuous source roll and such applications can be repeated in succession.

Lengths of resiliently expandable tubular netting are often applied over objects to protect them from damage. An example of such objects are tree seedlings, which can be protected from insect and animal damage by surrounding them in tubular lengths of netting formed from a plastics material. Historically such netting has been applied using a manual process, whereby a person cuts a measured length of netting, expands it over a cylindrical frame, places a tree seedling inside said frame and then withdraws the netting together with the seedling away from said frame. This process is slow, tedious and costly in terms of human labour.

Other attempts to apply lengths of tubular netting over objects have suffered from problems such as damaging said objects during application and inaccurate measurement and alignment of said netting and objects resulting in inadequate protection of said objects and wastage of said netting. Thus it is desirable to have a device that overcomes many of these issues by automating the application of tubular netting while greatly reducing the requirement for human labour. The present invention provides a method and apparatus that overcomes at least some of these issues

Summary of the Invention

Throughout this specification and claims, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Accordingly the invention resides in an apparatus capable of applying a length of a tubular netting over an article, comprising an expander element, a carrier and a cutter, said expander element supported to receive tubular netting from a source, the expander having a first end and a second end and being of divergent cross section from the first end to the second end, the second end having a cross sectional area substantially corresponding to the maximum cross sectional area of the article, the expander element being located such that the second end is proximate the article, the carrier being supported to be movable between a first position adjacent the second end and a second position located adjacent the portion of the article remote from the expander element, a first actuator arranged and configured to cause the movement of the carrier between the first and second positions, the carrier having gripping elements arranged and configured to be able to engage with the netting on movement of the carrier from the first position to the second position and to be disengaged from the netting on movement of the carrier from the second position to the first position, the cutter positioned to cause transverse movement of the cutter between the second end and the article to sever the netting subsequent to the netting being applied over the article.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the article is supported on a base which is positioned proximate the second end of the expander element and said expander element is supported to be capable of limited movement in the direction of the movement of the netting, said expander element being caused to abut the base on movement of the carrier from the first position to the second position and to move away from the base on movement of the carrier from the second position to the first position.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the apparatus is associated with a carriage having a set of bases, each base being intended in use to support an article, said carriage being arranged and configured to cause each base to be aligned with the expander element

According to a preferred feature of the invention the carriage comprises a carousel having a set of bases in the form of radial arms.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the expander element is supported in a guide which permits the movement of the netting between the guide and expander element in its movement over the expander element, said guide comprising a pair of spaced supports which are engaged with the expander element at spaced positions along the expander in a manner which will permit relative movement of the netting between the supports and the expander element. According to a preferred feature of the invention the supports have each have an aperture or recess which receives the expander element and the spacing between the expander element and the respective aperture or recess enables the movement of said netting there between. According to a preferred feature of the invention the expander element has a non-circular cross section for at least a portion of its length and wherein at least one aperture or recess is of complementary configuration to that portion. According to a preferred feature of the invention one aperture or recess is arranged and configured to receive the expander element adjacent the first end and the other aperture is arranged and configured to receive the expander element intermediate of its length. According to a preferred feature of the invention the one aperture or recess is substantially circular and the portion of the expander element engaged thereby is also of substantially circular cross section and the other aperture or recess is non-circular and the portion of the expander element engaged thereby is also of similar cross sectional profile.

According to a preferred feature of the invention wherein the carrier is concentrically received over the second end of the expander element when in its first position, said grippers being positioned at equi-angular positions around the inner face of the carrier. According to a preferred feature of the invention the grippers have the configuration of hook-like elements.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the article comprises a plant seedling and the netting comprises a supportive and protective membrane for the seedling.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the cutter includes a cutting blade which is supported to be movable across the netting.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the cutter includes a heated element which is supported to be movable across the netting.

The tubular netting applicator in accordance with this invention works by guiding the open end of a continuous tube of netting over an expander element and an article to a measured position, cutting said netting such that a measured length surrounds said article remaining in place by way of friction.

The expander element according to one embodiment has a smooth surface that tapers in sections from a blunt and narrow end out to a square section and finally to a larger cylindrical section, floats inside the continuous tube of netting such that said narrow end and taper gently stretches said netting to a diameter large enough to pass freely over an article as said netting is pulled forwards over both the expander element and said article. According to the embodiment the netting is pulled forward by a carrier that encircles the expander element at its larger end adjacent the article wherein the carrier includes a radial array of grippers which facing inwards and expander element includes a radial array of recesses that allows the grippers to be received in the said expander element's outer face such that the grippers engage the netting around its opening and hold said opening to the same diameter as the expander element. As a result of linear motion of the carrier it pulls a measured amount of netting over the tapered expander element and the article being supported adjacent the expander element. The motion creates a tension in said netting partly as a result of friction over the expander element which holds the netting open like a tube to avoid applying damaging forces to the article.

Once the carrier has moved to its fully extended position and as it begins to return to its home position the opening of the tubular netting is released by the grippers and the netting contracts inwards due to its elastic nature into close engagement around the article and remaining in place over the article by way of friction.

Once the carrier has returned to its home position, a cutting mechanism passes close to the expander element between the expander element and the article acting to sever the netting such that a measured section of said netting is separated and contracts resiliently to remain securely around the article and it's the base upon it which is supported. The netting being delivered from its continuous source remains stretched over the expander element and is caught and held again by the radial array of grippers in the carrier.

According to one embodiment the articles are supported on a carousel having radial arms that support the articles and indexes each arm past the expander element at which position the netting is applied over the article on the arm. Once covered the article supported on the respective arm and surrounded by a tubular section of netting is indexed away from the expander element such that the article and netting can be removed easily by sliding it from the radial arm. A second article is loaded onto an arm that is moved such that the article is axially aligned with the expander element and carrier where the application of the netting over the article can be repeated.

According to one embodiment the expander element floats inside the netting and to be supported by the guide and its axial movement is restricted to a small translation along its major axis as a result of the presence of base which supports the article which is to be covered. The expander element is mainly supported intermediate its length by a portion of the guide which is non-circular and the expander element at that intermediate portion is of corresponding non- circular cross section whereby the netting slides between the expander element the guide which also acts to prevent rotation of said expander around its major axis ensuring the array of grippers in the carrier align with the array of recesses in the expander element. As the carrier draws the netting forward the expander element is initially carried forward a small distance with netting where the degree of movement is limited by the expander element coming to rest against the base supporting article. Conversely, as the carrier returns to its home position the array of grippers are received in the array of recesses in the expander element where they act to push said expander element back to its home position in order that the cutting mechanism can pass freely between said expander element and the article or its support. During this movement the narrow end of the expander element is received in a circular guide hole through which the netting also passes.

A tubular netting applicator in accordance with the embodiment acts to automatically apply lengths of netting by way of the mechanisms and sequence described above. The sequence comprises of, but is not limited to, three distinct steps that may be initiated by an operator depressing a switch which can be associated with a foot pedal or a like activation mean. In the first step the carrier pulls the continuous length of netting a fixed distance over the expander element and article, releasing it and returning to its home position. In the second step a cutting mechanism severs a section of netting, before the third step whereby the article surrounded by a cut section of netting is moved away from the expander element while the next article is moved into alignment. The movements associated with these three steps might be produced by, but not limited to, electric or fluid actuators whereby said actuators' sequence is controlled by electric switches or fluid valves and an associated circuit or other controller. Where the apparatus is associated with a carousel which delivers the articles to the apparatus the arms that support articles may be made from two parallel bars set apart such that a article is cradled parallel to the bars whereby the size, separation and height of said radial arms may be configurable to suit various article sizes. A transverse bar positioned perpendicularly between the radial arm bars may strengthen said support bars while assisting in aligning the article on the radial arm whereby the location of the cross bar may be configurable to affect the final position of said article inside the tubular netting. According to the embodiment multiple arms may be arranged in a radial array around a central hub forming a turret that automatically rotates in the final step of the application sequence to move articles into and out of alignment with the apparatus.

The length of tubular netting applied to each article is determined by the distance the carrier drags said tubular netting forwards before returning. This distance may be changed by repositioning a limit switch associated with the carrier and hence providing an adjustment to the length of netting applied.

The netting may be, but not need not necessarily be, made from a tube-shaped continuous plastic lattice which is supplied on large continuous rolls. In such case, the source roll is supported to rotate on an axle supported by suitable bearings. The carrier and its array of grippers pull the netting over the expander element and article creating considerable tension in said netting. According to another embodiment in the circumstances where the additional tension caused by the need to rotate the continuous source roll would otherwise break the netting, an additional dispensing mechanism may be added that clamps the netting near the source roll and pulls the netting in synchrony with the carrier. Other possible arrangements that would reduce tension in the netting are to actively rotate the source roll or to buffer the tension forces in the netting using spring and/or weight arrangements.

The expander element according to the various embodiments is arranged and configured to be able to pass through and stretch the tubular netting with minimal friction where the surface of the expander element is smoothly tapered, it is light, yet solid and resistant to wear. The expander element may be made from, but not limited to, components of mild steel, cast out of a metal such as aluminium or a plastic such as nylon, or even printed using a three dimensional printer where the latter materials would be lighter and hence create less friction within the guides. The expander element may also be coated by a hard, durable and smooth surface such as Nylon or an epoxy resin. According to another embodiment to further reduce friction the non-circular intermediate portion of the expander elements is of a square cross section and the guide is associated with a square array of bearing members which are positioned to support the intermediate portion. In order to prevent movement of the netting away from the expander element when the netting is cut the engagement of the guide with the narrower portion of the expander element will clampingly engage the netting between the guide and the expander element to prevent such movement when the expander element is returned to its home position.

According to another embodiment the cutting mechanism may consist of two knife blades set in a "V" shaped cutter that severs the netting when passed down between the expander and article. An alternative cutting mechanism for plastic tubular netting could consist of an heated electrically wire or the like that acts to sever said netting by melting the netting on contact.

The apparatus may be constructed as a standalone apparatus whereby objects are loaded and unloaded by a single human operator where said operator manually initiates each netting application. Alternatively several radial arms might be arranged in a radial array (turret) that rotates at a height approximately aligned to the operator's waist with a bench on either side of said turret such that said operator can easily source and load articles from one bench to maintain continuous successive netting applications unloading recently netted objects to the second bench.

The invention will be more fully understood in the light of the following description of several specific embodiments, Brief Description of the Drawings

The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic isometric view of the apparatus according to the first embodiment;

Figure 2 is a partial isometric view of the apparatus of Figure 1 showing the expansion and cutting means according to the embodiment;

Figure 3 is a partial isometric view of the apparatus of Figure 1 showing the stage of operation subsequent to the application of the netting over a tree seedling and before releasing said netting in accordance with the invention prior to cutting of the netting;

Figure 4 is a partial isometric view of the apparatus of Figure 1 showing the showing the expander element when abutting the radial arms of the carousel and when the carrier is located at its remote position relative to the expansion means.

Description of Specific Embodiments

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described. In the case of each of the embodiments a length of tubular plastic lattice netting 19 which is sourced from a continuous rolls 17 is applied over young tree seedlings.

In the case of each of the first embodiment of Figure 1 the apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment is associated with a carousel 11 having an array of five radial arms 13. The arms 13 are supported from a hub 15. Each of the arms comprises a pair of parallel elongate elements which are spaced laterally from each other in which the spacing is such that the elements are able to support a tree seedling T which is disposed radially with respect to the hub with the root ball outermost. A transverse support is provided between the elongate elements inward of their free ends. The transverse support serves to prevent separation of the elongate elements and to provide a guide for the positioning of seedlings on the arm. The arms can be replaced by arms of differing dimensions to accommodate for differently sized seedlings. The carousel is driven to be capable of causing the arms 13 to be indexed sequentially past a station adjacent the apparatus 10 at which the apparatus is able to apply the netting 19 over the tree seedling T.

The apparatus is associated with a roll 17 which carries the netting 19 which is to be applied by the apparatus to the tree seedling. The roll is mounted to be able to rotate about is central axis to enable the netting to be delivered to the apparatus 10.

The netting 19 is formed of a plastics material and is formed as a continuous length of material which is carried on the roll 17. The netting is in the form of a tube and is able to be resiliently expanded.

The apparatus comprises a guide 21 which slidably supports an expander element 23, and further comprises a carrier 25 and a cutter 27.

The guide 21 has a pair of axially spaced guides 29 and 31 which are each formed with an aperture 33 and 35 respectively which in use are to receive the expander 23. The one aperture 33 in the one guide 29 most adjacent the roll 17 is a generally circular while the other aperture 35 is in the other guide 31 is a generally square.

The expander element 23 comprises an elongate member having a first portion 23a which is of a circular cross section towards its free end and is of a square cross section towards its other end. The first portion 23a is of a tapered configuration such that its outer surface is divergent from the free end of the first portion. The one aperture 33 is configured and dimensioned to closely receive the free end of the first portion. The other aperture 35 is configured and dimensioned to receive the first portion at a position spaced from the free end first portion. The free end 35 of the expander element 23 is formed with a domed end and the free end portion 23b of the expander element most adjacent the free end has a generally cylindrical cross section which is dimensioned to be loosely received in the one aperture 33. The other end portion 23c of the expander element comprises a continuation of the first portion 23a of the expander element terminates with an enlarged cylindrical head portion 37. The periphery of the end of the enlarged head portion is formed with a set of equi-angularly spaced recesses 39. According to the first embodiment the expander element 23 is constructed from a suitable plastics material such as NYLON that has been shaped to produce a profile to the shape as described above In use the expander element 23 will be covered for its full length by the netting 19 and as such the surfaces where said netting slides between the expander element and the first and second apertures 33 and 35 in the guide both the expander element and the apertures are dimensioned to leave a gap (which can be several times the thickness of said netting) between the expander element and the apertures. The length of the expander is such that when a radial arm 13 is aligned with the expander element the expander element will be capable of a small amount of axial movement towards and away from the abutting radial arm. The guides 29 and 31 support the expander element 23 by supporting the first portion such that is displaceable axially out of the guide in a direction towards the carousel 11. The dimensions of the first aperture 33 limit the movement of the expander away from the carousel 11 and the expander element is prevented from moving completely from the guide by the abutting end of the radial arm. As a result of the support provided for the expander element by the guide the expander element 23 is substantially freely supported within the guide and in use is retained in the guide by the netting 19

The apparatus further comprises a carrier 25 which comprises and annular element which is dimensioned to be concentrically receivable over the head portion 37 of the expander element 23. The inner diameter of the carrier is sufficiently greater than the outer diameter of the head portion 37 to enable the netting to be received there between. The carrier is supported to be movable axially from a first position at which it is concentrically received over the head portion to a second position at which it is displaced axially outwardly from the head portion to be receivable over the adjacent arm 13 of the carousel. The carrier is associated with a pair of diametrically opposed radial extensions 41 which are to be received in a suitable guide to control the direction of the movement of the carrier between the first and second position. In addition the inner face of the carrier is provided with a set of hook-like grippers 43 which are in one to one correspondence with the recesses 39 in the head portion 37 of the expander and are positioned such that when the carrier is in its first position the grippers are received in the recesses. The grippers 43 are arranged and configured such that on movement of the carrier from its first position to its second position the grippers will engage the netting 19 located between the carrier and the head portion 37 of the expander and then on movement of the carrier from the second position to the first position the grippers will disengage from the netting 19. In addition on the movement of the carrier to the first position the grippers will be received in the recesses 39 in the end face of the head portion 37 to move the expander element 23 away from the radial arm 13.

The cutter 27 is supported to lie proximate the free ends of the arms and comprises a cutter blade 45 which is mounted to be movable transversely across the space occupied by the netting bridging the space defined between the head portion 37 of the expander element 23 and the free end of the adjacent arm off the carousel. According to a particular example of the embodiment the cutter blade consists of two razor blades 20 set in a "V" shape at an approximate angle of 80 degrees where said blades 20 create a cutting surface with a total width more than 20% greater than the diameter of the head portion. A suitable actuation means which can comprise a fluid operated ram is associated with the cutter blade to cause its movement from a retracted position (as shown) to one side of the netting and an extended position (not shown) at which it serves to sever the netting. The cutting blade 45 is supported and actuated by the fluid operated ram and is slidably supported in linear guides that cause the blade 45 at their widest point to descend 20% beyond the circumference of the head portion 37 thus ensuring the expanded netting 19 is severed completely (see Figure 3). The clearance provided between the face 30 of the head portion 37 of the expander element 23 and the abutting end of the radial arms 13 when the carrier is in its first position ensures that the cutter blade 45 of the cutter 27 (as shown in Figures 1 , 2 and 3) can pass down freely through the cross-section of the netting 19 on activation of the cutter.

In operation the netting 19 is delivered from a the roll 17 into the guide 21 over the expander element 23 to carrier 25 where it is engaged by the radial array of grippers 43 which serve to hold the tubular netting 19 open to the diameter as formed by the netting as a result of it being caused to pass over the expander element 23. In its passage through the guide as shown at Figure the netting 19 is pulled through the first aperture 33 and as a result is caused to be received over the expander element and with its movement over the expander element 23 passing the netting 19 is stretched over the expander element 23 from its domed free end 35 over the square sectioned intermediate portion 23a and through the second aperture 35 to the head portion of the expander element.

When a tree seedling T held by a radial arm 13 is in alignment with the expander element 23 the tubular netting 19 can be drawn over said tree seedling T by the carrier as a result of it being moved to the second position (see Figure 1). The carrier is then caused to retract to its first position however because of the configuration of the hook-like gripper elements they are caused to slide over the netting 19. Leaving the netting in place over the tree seedling and the radial arm supporting the tree seeding. When the carrier is at the first position the netting 19 is severed by activation of the cutter 27. As a result the length of netting is left in engagement over the seeding and the radial arm and that length of netting remaining on the tree seedling will contract, as a result of its inherent resilience, into close engagement with the seedling T and the radial arm 13.

Referring further to Figure 1 and considering the flow of tree seedlings through the device and the sequencing of a single netting application, the first embodiment of a netting applicator is ideally operated by a single person such that tubular netting 19 is applied to tree seedlings T in quick succession. The tree seedlings T are shown in Figure 1 deposited onto the radial arms 13 to lie between the elongate elements of the arms with the root ball radially outermost. When a radial arm 13 carrying a tree seedling is aligned with the expander element 23 the operator initiates a single application sequence by activating a switch which is associated with a foot pedal and as a result the apparatus according to the first embodiment executes a three step sequence that begins with the carrier moved axially from the first position to the second position which represents a measured distance over a tree seedling T and radial arm 13, such that the tubular netting 19 is drawn over the expander element 23, the tree seedling 19 and radial arm 5 to the second position of the carrier which is then caused to retract to its first position. The cutting mechanism 10 then severs the netting 19 by way of the cutter blade 45 passing between the head portion 37 of the expander element 23 and the free end of the radial arms 13. After the cutter blade 45 returns to its retracted position, the carousel is caused to rotate to align the next radial arm 13 and its associated tree seedling T with the expander element 23 marking the end of the sequence.

It is anticipated that the operator will source the tree seedlings which are to be covered by the netting 17 from a source tray sitting on a bench to the one side of an operator who will sequentially locate and align the tree seedlings T onto the radial arms 13 and sequentially activate the apparatus to cause the newly loaded seedlings to pass to the apparatus according to the embodiment whereby as the covered seedlings are delivered to the operator who is then able to unload the covered tree seedling from the respective radial arm by sliding the said tree seedling T, with its length of netting, radially from the radial arm to be deposited into an output tray on the other side of the operator.

The device is actuated by three fluid operated rams (not shown) corresponding to the three steps of the sequence described above. The said fluid operated rams are not detailed in the drawings to avoid clutter and it is envisaged that one skilled in the art of the invention could readily assemble said fluid operated rams such that they actuate each step as described. Each fluid operated ram is controlled by a double acting fluid valve such that a fluid circuit constructed out of such valves and being switched by fluid limit switch valves at both extents of each said cylinder results in the three step sequence being performed. An application sequence is initiated when the operator depresses a switch which can be associated with a foot pedal or a like means. A sensor (not shown) is provided on the hub which provides a suitable signal when the a radial arm is aligned with the expander element to permit the initiation of an application sequence. It is envisaged that a person skilled in the arts of the invention could readily assemble such fluid circuit including the necessary fluid supply, filters and safety mechanisms such as an emergency stop switch.

A further feature of the first embodiment comprises a feed mechanism 47 (shown schematically in Figure 1) which is to assist in the delivery of the netting to the apparatus from the roller. In circumstances where the additional tension caused by the need to rotate the continuous source roll would otherwise break the netting, the feed mechanism serves in moving the netting in the direction of the apparatus. The feed mechanism 47 comprises a set of clamps which are supported to be able to sequentially clampingly engage the netting on the movement of the carrier and be moved in the direction of the article substantially the same distance as the carrier in order to deliver the netting in synchrony with the carrier.

The apparatus according to the embodiment and as shown in Figure 1 along with the respective supports for each of the components¹ supports and actuators are mounted on a solid structure such that the radial arms 13 rotate in a substantially horizontal plane at waist height of the operator. In addition the structure includes a shield covering the components of the apparatus components (excluding the roll 17 and the carousel 11). Again it is envisaged that a person skilled in the arts of the invention could readily produce such a structure and shields.

According to another embodiment of the invention the carrier may be caused to be resiliently compressed inwardly to ensure that the grippers engage with the netting when moving from the first position. This can be as effected by having the radial extensions 41 being received in a guide which causes inward relative movement of the extensions when the carrier moves back to its first position. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention the expander element is coated with a material having a low coefficient of sliding friction such as NYLON or a like material.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention the guide is provided with at least one set of rollers which are located at equiangular spacings around the central axes of the apertures and which are positioned to further support the expander element

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention the expander element is formed a material having a low coefficient of sliding friction such as Nylon or a like material.

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by any of the specific embodiments described herein. These embodiments are intended for the purpose of exemplification only. Functionally equivalent products, formulations and methods are clearly within the scope of the invention as described herein. In addition the invention is not limited to the particular application of the embodiment in that the nature of the articles to which the netting is to be applied is not limited to tree seedlings but may comprise any article that needs to be covered.

Claims

The Claims Defining the Invention are as Follows:

1. An apparatus capable of applying a length of a tubular netting over an article, comprising an expander element, a carrier and a cutter, said expander element supported to receive tubular netting from a source, the expander having a first end and a second end and being of divergent cross section from the first end to the second end, the second end having a cross sectional area substantially corresponding to the maximum cross sectional area of the article, the expander element being located such that the second end is proximate the article, the carrier being supported to be movable between a first position adjacent the second end and a second position located adjacent the portion of the article remote from the expander element, a first actuator arranged and configured to cause the movement of the carrier between the first and second positions, the carrier having gripping elements arranged and configured to be able to engage with the netting on movement of the carrier from the first position to the second position and to be disengaged from the netting on movement of the carrier from the second position to the first position, the cutter positioned to cause transverse movement of the cutter between the second end and the article to sever the netting subsequent to the netting being applied over the article.

2. An apparatus as claimed at claim 1 wherein the article is supported on a base which is positioned proximate the second end of the expander element and said expander element is supported to be capable of limited movement in the direction of the movement of the netting, said expander element being caused to abut the base on movement of the carrier from the first position to the second position and to move away from the base on movement of the carrier from the second position to the first position.

3. An apparatus as claimed at claim 2 wherein the apparatus is associated with a carriage having a set of bases, each base being intended in use to support an article, said carriage being arranged and configured to cause each base to be aligned with the expander element

4. An apparatus as claimed at claim 3 wherein the carriage comprises a carousel having a set of bases in the form of radial arms.

5. An apparatus as claimed at any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the expander element is supported in a guide which permits the movement of the netting between the guide and expander element in its movement over the expander element, said guide comprising a pair of spaced supports which are engaged with the expander element at spaced positions along the expander in a manner which will permit relative movement of the netting between the supports and the expander element.

6. An apparatus as claimed at claim 5 wherein the supports each have an aperture or recess which receives the expander element and the spacing between the expander element and the respective aperture or recess enables the movement of said netting there between.

7. An apparatus as claimed at claim 6 wherein the expander element has a non- circular cross section for at least a portion of its length and wherein at least one aperture or recess is of complementary configuration to that portion.

8. An apparatus as claimed at claim 7 wherein one aperture or recess is arranged and configured to receive the expander element adjacent the first end and the other aperture is arranged and configured to receive the expander element intermediate of its length.

9. An apparatus as claimed at claim 6 or 7 or 8 wherein the one aperture or recess is substantially circular and the portion of the expander element engaged thereby is also of substantially circular cross section and the other aperture or recess is non-circular and the portion of the expander element engaged thereby is also of similar cross sectional profile.

10.An apparatus as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein the carrier is concentrically received over the second end of the expander element when in its first position, said grippers being positioned at equi-angular positions around the inner face of the carrier.

11.An apparatus as claimed at claim 10 wherein the grippers have the configuration of hook-like elements.

12.An apparatus as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein the article comprises a plant seedling and the netting comprises a supportive and protective membrane for the seedling.

13.An apparatus as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein the cutter includes a cutting blade which is supported to be movable across the netting.

14.An apparatus as claimed at any one of the claims 1 to 11 wherein the cutter includes a heated element which is supported to be movable across the netting.

15. An apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.