Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1077~01
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus and process for packaging
articles, particularly of the type which are adversely affected by oxygen, in
substantially oxygen-free, gas containing flexible containers, and it more
specifically relates to an apparatus and process for packaging fresh meat
pieces, such as fresh red meat, in flexible containers wherein the meat may
be held for extended periods of time without having the bacteria levels on or
in the meat exceed acceptable limits and without having a significant adverse
effect on the desired color of the fresh meat.
- 10 It is well known that there are a great number of materials that are
adversely affected by the atmosphere, particularly humidity conditions and
- the oxygen therein. Such materials include metals, such as precious metals,
which undesirably oxidize in air, and a great variety of food products, such
as fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, crackers, cured meats, fresh meats, in-
cluding poultry, beef, pork, veal, and lamb, and like products.
. ,
In the case of food products, the oxygen and humidity conditions
have undesired effects on the food. ~ar,;cularly in the case of meat, the
oxygen in the air supports the growth of bacteria on the surface of the meat,
in particular, and the bacteria growth can increase to such a point that the
Z0 meat becomes "spoiled" and/or the fat becomes rancid. There are many
machines and processes known for packaging products, such as fresh and
cured meats, in a wide variety of vacuumized, gas flushed, and/or sealed
:,
. ~ containers of various types. Canning, for example, is a well known technique
:' .,-.
" ~ for preserving food products. In order to preserve meat,various curing and
...: .;
preserving techniques have been used to preserve the meat over extended
periods. Well known packaging techniques, primarily for consumer purchase
include placing the products in flexible bags or containers. Also, vacuum-
, izing the container to substantially eliminate bacteria growth supporting
oxygen is well known. Gas flushing with preserving gases, as carbon
:.. : - 1 -
. -
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. ~77~0~
dioxide, is also known. It is common to heat seal the thus vacuumized or gas
~ .
flushed container containing sliced bacon, wieners, or the like. In essence,
the preservation of foodstuffs, including fresh and cured meats, for extended
periods of time is a well known and well devoloped art.
With particular emphasis on the preservation of fresh red meat,
the storage problem has two stages. First, the meat must be properly pre-
served from the time the animal is processed and shipped from a packing
~`~ plant to the ultimate user, such as a butcher shop or a restaurant. Although
., .
one preserving technique is to freeze the meat, probably most of the meat
sold through butcher shops and consumed in restaurants is fresh meat, not
previously frozen. Freezing is considered to have certain disadvantages in
that the color and taste are often considered to be adversely affected by
freezing. Additionally, freezing fresh meat is generally considered to be an
expensive operation, requiring expensive freezing and storage equipment and
. .
also requiring considerable use of energy during freezing and during storage.
;~ Thus, meat which is shipped from a packing plant is more conventionally pre-
.,
~;~ served, by refrigeration, at above freezing temperatures, as about 35-50F.,
until the food is prepared for serving, as in a restaurant, or until the meat isprepared for consumer purchase, as in a butcher shop.
~., .
Most of the meat shipped in bulk from a packing plant is preserved
,
by refrigerating temperatures and not by absence of oxygen. The meat is pre-
served in this way so the bacteria level on or in the meat or poultry does not
~ exceed levels which would be injurious to human health. Some of the in-
`;;~ jurious bacteria are aerobic, that is, air or oxygen is required for growth.
~.,,-".~
", i~
The absence of oxygèn, however, is generally considered to actually cause
.; discoloration of fresh red meat product and this also is an undesirable result.
: ..,~
Some researchers have also considered that excessive concentrations of car-
` bon dioxide cause greying or darkening of the meat, even after relatively
short periods of time. Thus, fresh red meat presents two particularly
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1~77901
., .
difficult problems for packaging thereof, that is, excessive bacteria growth
and meat discoloration.
The bacteria growth and discoloration problems are even more
pronounced when retail butcher shops and restaurants "age" their meat for
a sufficient period of time to permit the natural enzymes of beef to break
down the cells or connective tissue until the beef is particularly tender and
palatable. It is generally considered that such natural aging of beef for ex-
tended periods of time is highly preferable over artificial tenderization pro-
cedures, such as injection with various proteolytic enzymes. One significant
problem with natural aging of beef is that the meat ordinarily, even under
refrigeration, has considerable discoloration and bacteria or mold growth on
the exposed surfaces of the meat. This is because the "aging" normally
takes place in a refrigerated, oxygen_containing room or cooler, resulting in
bacteria growth. Before the meat can be consumed, the butcher trims off not
only the mold, but also a considerable portion of the meat adjacent the mold
growth. As a result, there is a considerable loss in the amount of meat
which can be consumed, as compared to the original cut. This leads to ex-
cessive prices for such meat from the consumer.
:.
Although various techniques, including vacuum packaging, have
, 20 been used at the retail level for preserving smaller amounts of meat, as for
", :,
'~`; consumer packages of meat, bulk shipments of fresh poultry and meat have
generally not involved vacuum packaging of the product. Generally, large
bulk shipments of beef or porkhave been in refrigerated vehicles. Some -
~; prior art has also suggested the inclusion of an atmosphere of gases, such as
carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or the like. A significant disadvantage of main-
~; taining a controlled gaseous atmosphere in a storage compartment, as in a
~ .
butcher's cooler or in a vehicle, is that the controls for maintaining the com-
, . ,
-~ partment at the desired conditions of gas level, temperature, and humidity,
for example, can be quite expensive and complex. Large pieces of fresh
' '
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:` ~
~ 10779~1
meat haye also been packaged in vacuumized packages. For
example, beef r~ sections have been packaged in such a way.
; One quite well known system includes placing individual meat
pieces into a flexi~Ie plastlc bag, the bag is yacuumized and
then a wire clip is placed around the gathered end of the bag.
One of the disad~antages of this sys~tem i`s that, ~ith the
clipping arrangement, it i5 diffi`cult to maintain a vacuum
because the bag is onl~ gathered and t~e ~acuum is lost there-
through. Additionallyr the s~stem is principally adapted for
: 10 packaging individual meat pieces and does not adapt to packag-
ing of larger meat pieces or to bulk packaging a plurality of
:
relatively large p~eces of meat. In the case o~ vacuumized
S bags, the bag is generally taut and su~ject to splitting or
~ breakage, thereby losing the vacuum and making the meat therein
,.,
susceptible to undue bacteria growth.
The known equipment often requires some skill in
; operation. Such equipment also requires considerable floor
space and usually requires a heated tunnel for shrinking the
. bag around the packaged product. Such heat tunnels are
~ 20 generally placed in a xefrigerated room, causing additional
" ; undesirable e~penses for maintaining a refrigerated room at
the desired tempexature, to offset heat from the heat tunnel,
and at the same time, expenses are required for heating the heat
tunnel to the desired leyel to offset the temperature of the
~; refrigerated room. ~150, in the sepa~ate packaging of
; individual meat p~eces, there is a significant di~advantage
.~,
in that labor expenses are high because each single piece
requires a separate YaCuUmizing and sealing operation.
Individual handling of each meat piece during packaging is
3~ clearly time and labor consuming and therefore undesirable.
' '~.
~ -4-
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107790~
UM~RX` OF THE IN~7ENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention
there is provided an apparatus for packaging articles in a
flexible container hav~ng an open end. The apparatus comprises
means for supporting the flexible container wi.th the articles
therein, means for reIeasably gripping the contai.ner on
. opposite sides thereof along the open end, passage defining
means, and means for moving said passage deEining means into
~ and out of the container. Means carried by the gripping means
is provided $or temporarily sealing the flexible container
along its open end whether the passage means is in or out of
the container, and means is provided for creating a controlled
gaseous interior atmosphere for container through said passage
means while the container i5 temporaril~ sealed by said sealing
~ means. Means is included $or self-susta1ningly sealing the
.. container along ~ts open end after the passage defining means
is out of said container.
;1 According to another aspect of the present invention
;i
there is provided a process for packaging fresh.meat for
2~ extended peri.ods o$ time wh.~.le maintaining th.e natural appear-
ance of the meat without having adverse bacteria growth. The
process comprises the steps of posi.ti.oning a su~stanti.ally gas
impermeable flexible container having an open end at a station,
placi.ng the meat in the container at said station through said
: open end, i.nserting a passage member into th container at said
. .
station through sai.d open end, temporari.ly seali.ng the container
~: at said station along sai.d open end, and around the passage
member, vacuumizing the container at said station through the
~ passage membex for remo~ing substanti.all~ all o$ the air from
:.. 3~ withi.n said container, adding carbon di.oxide into the container
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.:
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77901
at said station through the passage member at a concentration
which maintains the natural appearance of the meat and at a
pressure which maintains a substantially flexible condition
for the container. The passage member is then removed from
the container at said station while continui.ng the temporary
sealing step, and the container is self-sus.tainingly sealed
at said station to prevent the egress of carbon dioxide from
.; the container and the ingress of air into the container.
- BRIEF ~ESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~INGS
~ 10 Particular embodiments of the present invention are
. .
. illustrated in the accompanying drawi.ngs wherein:
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1077901
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of one preferred embodiment
of apparatus useful for practicing our novel packaging process;
Figure 2 is an elevational view of one end of the embodiment of
Figure l;
Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the apparatus of Figure l;
Figure 4 is an elevational view of the other end of the embodi-
ment of Figures 1 and 3;
Figure 5 is an enlarged, partially sectioned view showing the
: apparatus of Figures 1 - 4, prior to the time that the flexible container,
; 10 used in our process, is vacuumized and sealed.
. Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 with the passage defining
: means positioned within the flexible container for vacuumizing and addition
of gas thereto;
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~ - " 1077901
FIGURE 7 is a partially broken, sectional view taken along the
line 7--7 of FIGURE 5, particularly showing the manifold members used for
holding the open end of the flexible container;
FIGURE 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 8--8
of FIGURE 7, showing the flexible container holding means in a closed posi-
~i tion and with mechanical bag clamping means shown in the inoperative
. position;
FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary, detailed view showing the bag clamp-
ing means in the operative position;
FIGURE 10 is an enlarged detailed, fragmentary sectional view
. taken along the line 10 -- 10 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 11 is a detailed view showing limit switches mounted on the
passage defining means, which switches are useful in the sequencing of the
apparatus;
FIGURE 12 is a detailed, fragmentary view showing the start posi-
tion, before commencing the vacuumizing, gas filling and sealing of the flex_
.,:,
ible container used in our packaging process;
.~:,
FIGUXE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 12, showing the front
~ . manifold in the lowered position;
:,. ;
.. 20 FIGURE 14 is a view similar to FIGURES 12 and 13, with the rear
: - manifold moved into the forward position for grasping the open upper end of
; the container;
~.: FIGURE 15 illustrates the next step in the sequencing operation of
; - ~ the apparatus wherein the rear manifold is moved rearwardly and the pass-
,
age defining or snorkel means are inserted into the flexible container;
. FIGURE 16 is a view, similar to FIGURES 12 - 15, wherein the
~ front and rear manifolds temporarily seal the upper end of the flexible con-
~ tainer as the passage defining means is inserted into the flexible container
; for vacuumizing and adding gas to the flexible container;
. 7
~(~7790~
FIGURE 17 is a view, similar to FIGURES lZ - 16, again showing
- the next operating step, wherein the passage defining or snorkel means are
removed from the flexible container, following vacuumizing and addition of
:
gas, and during the heat sealing of the flexible container;
FIGURE 18 is a view, similar to FIGURES 12 - 17 following the
heat sealing and showing completion of the sequencing of the apparatus and
: . ..
: thereby completion of the packaging operation;
FIGURE 19 is an end view of the snorkel or passage means used
. .
for vacuumizing and adding gas to the flexible container;
~,; 10 FIGURE 20 is a fragmentary end view of the embodiment of
~, FIGURE 19;
.: FIGURE 21 is a pneumatic flow diagram for the mechanism shown
' . . !
.` in FIGURES 1 _ 20;
':,'.
~ . FIGURE 21A is an electrical schematic diagram of the electrical
.
:; controls used in the sequencing of the apparatus;
,!,; ~ .
FIGURE ZlB is another electrical schematic diagram showing the
motor controls for a vacuum pump; and heat sealer heating element
FIGURE 22 is a side elevational, partially sectional view of
- ~ ~ another and preferred embodiment of apparatus useful for practicing our
....
.,^i l,
u ~ 20 process;
, :~
FIGURE 23 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along the line
~m 23 __ 23 of FIGURE 22;
FIGURE 24 is a plan view of a flexible container or bag having
~r'~,~
~ two completely separate but separable product containing sections;
~,i}
:i . FIGURE 25 is a front elevational view of the apparatus embodied
. ` in FIGURE 22 during processing and using the double bag of FIGURE 24;
;~ .i
. FIGURE 26 is a view similar to FIGURE 25 at the time the bag
.; gripping manifolds hold the upper end of the bag in the open position for re-
.; ceiving the snorkel thereini
~, ~ _~_
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1077901
FIGURE 27 is a detailed view showing a preferred form of
mechanical bag clamping means in the inoperative position;
FIGURE 28 is a plan view of the bag clamping means embodied in
FIGURE 27 in the operative position; and
FIGURE 29 is a front elevational view of the embodiment of
FIGURE 22 wherein the snorkels are shown in the operative position in a
double bag container, particularly illustrating the feature of positioning the
snorkels at different levels in the preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
; 10 Referring to FIGURES 1 - 20, one preferred apparatus, generally
50, useful for practicing our packaging process is shown. The apparatus 50
generally includes a package support frame, generally 52, a bag gripping
assembly, generally 54, a vacuumizing and gas adding assembly, generally
56, and a heat sealing assembly, generally 58. The apparatus 50 may be
used for packaging a large variety of articles, particularly those articles
which are commonly adversely affected by the atmosphere, such as metals,
~i including precious metals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, crackers~ cookies,
. . .
bread, and the like, because of, for example, humidity conditions and oxygen.
For purposes of simplicity, it is to be understood that our process and the
::"
20 apparatus 50, described herein, useful for practicing our process, will
specifically describe the packaging of fresh meats, such as fresh poultry,
fresh veal, fresh pork, fresh lamb and fresh beef, such packaging being one
of the principal and most important uses of our process and apparatus. More
specifically, the description will hereinafter generally refer to the packaging
, and processing of fresh cut beef. Also although the invention herein is par-
.,~ .
ticularly useful for bulk packaging a plurality of mea-t pieces, in a single
package or container, it is to be understood that the apparatus and process
~, is also very useful for the packaging of single articles, such as large pieces
of beef, as block beef, in a single container.
. , _
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-` 10779~
In the packaging of meat pieces M, as seen in FIGURES 5 and 6,
for example, the meat M is contained within a flexible container C. In turn,
the flexible container C is contained within a self supporting, rigid outer
container or corrugated box B. The structure of the flexible container C is
considered important in the process, and certain requirements, particularly
for the packaging of fresh red meat, are called for. Although a variety of
low gas permeable, heat sealable flexible containers are useful in our pro-
cess, one preferred bag or flexible container C comprises a laminated, flex-
ible, substantially flat, double paneled, plastic container, having an open
upper end and three heat sealed sides. The lamination of each panel com-
prises nylon bonded to Surlyn (DuPont trademark), such a lamination being
widely used in the meat industry for storage of meat. This material has the
desirable property of low air or gas permeability and is also heat sealable
regardless of the presence of blood or fat at the heat seal area. In this lami-
nation, the nylon layer is on the exterior and the Surlyn layer is on the in-
,,.~,
~ terior so that the heat seal is between the abutting surfaces of the Surlyn
,.:,
j'4~'~ panels. In one specific example of this product, the nylon layer has a thick-
ness of about . 0177 inches and the thickness of the Surlyn layer is in the
~; range of 2 to 4 mlls.
Another flexible container which has been found to be quite satis-
; factory is sold under the trademark Maraflex Z 284-400 Freshtuff Primal
Meat Bag. This product is available from the Ame-ican Can Company. The
oxygen barrier properties of the material are approximately 5 - 8
milliliters/meter squared for twenty four hours at 73F. and 50% relative
~ humidity. The water permeability rate is approximately 2. 5 grams per
;i meter squared for twenty-four hours at 100F. and 90% relative humidity.
.:
~ ' Containers made from this product are also heat sealable, even in the pres-
......
ence of fat or blood. A bag having a flat dimension of about 32" x 41~' has
been found to be suitable for packaging about 50 - 80 pounds of fresh meat.
~" _~_ ,
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~(~79()~
The size of the bag is, of course, variable over a wide range.
The container B is desirably made from a conventional collapsible
corrugated box of a selected size. One of the advantages of our process is
that, with the use of the flexible containers C, the box B does not require any
special interior coating. This is in contrast to prior art corrugated contain-
; ers which have been used for shipping and storage of meat cuts wherein a
coated interior was required and also such containers were not reusable.
Since the flexible container C is in contact with the meat in the applicant's
invention, the box B not only does not need an internal moisture-proof coat-
ing, but it is also possible to reuse the box B because the meat does not con-
tact the interior. Avoidance of the interior coating and ability to reuse
represent a considerable saving over the meat packaging techniques using
!,~i,, coated containers.
Referring to FIGURES 1 - 4, the apparatus 50 includes a main
frame, generally 60, located above, below and to the rear of the package
frame section 52. The frame 60 supports the package frame 52, the bag
gripping section 54, the vacuum assembly 56, and the heat sealing assembly
58. The frame 60 includes a rear cabinet or frame, generally 62, and an
r ~ ' overhead frame assembly, generally 64. The apparatus 50 is movably sup_
~; 20 ported by four caster wheels 66 mounted on the lower or base portion of the
~i ~ frame 60.
~-: The main frame 60 includes a welded base portion 68 which is
., . ~.
constructed of hollow tubular frame members formed in a generally rectan_
~-; gular shape. The frame base 68 includes a pair of end pieces 70 and spaced
~,, .
, front and rear sections 72 and 74. An intermediate tubular frame section 76
is positioned substantially parallel and intermediate the frame sections 72
- and 74, with the opposite ends of the frame section 76 rigidly secured, as by
- welding, to the inner faces of the opposite frame ends 70. The main frame
~ 60 includes an upright frame section 78 which extends upwardly from and is
.; ,
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fixed to the base 68 and provides rigid support for the overhead frame sec-
tion 64, as well as for the rear frame section or cabinet 62. The base 68
also includes a pair of longitudinal, spaced end frame sections 80 which pro-
ject upwardly from the base 68 and rigidly interconnect with the upright sec-
: tion 78. A pair of spaced, frontwardly projecting transverse frame sections :
82 also project upwardly from the base 68 and interconnect with the upright
frame sections 78. The frame sections 80 and 82 assist is rigidly support-
ing the upright frame section 78 and thereby the overhead frame 64 in a
substantially rigid or fixed conditon.
- 10 The package frame 52 is vertically movable relative to the main
frame 60. The box B containing the meat M is supported on the package
; frame 52 and specifically rests on a longitudinally positioned roller conveyor
.~ assembly 84. The conveyor assembly 84 includes a longitudinally elongated
: frame 86 having side members 88 which rotatably carry a plurality of
:'
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':; transversely positioned roller members 90 which support the box B and its
~'~` contents.
,. The vertical level of the conveyor frame 86 is adjustable by an
~, adjusting assembly, generally 92. The assembly 92 includes a pair of cross-
ing members 94 which are pivotally interconnected at 96. The upper end of
20 one cross member 94 is pivotally connected to the upper portion of one side
~: 88 of the conveyor frame 86 while the lower end of the other cross member
:.
94 is pivotally interconnected to the base 68 at 98. The lower end of the
cross member 94 which is pivotally connected to the side 88 of the frame 86
!~
~ r~ includes a transverse support 100 which is slidably mounted on the upper
., , ~
~-` portions of the front frame section 72 and of the intermediate frame section
~, 76 of the base 68. A longitudinally elongated threaded member 102 is rotat-
ably mounted on the underside of the frame 86. A threaded nut 104 thread-
1~ . . '
-. ably engages the threaded member 102. The upper end of the cross member
94, which is pivoted to the base 68, is also pivotally connected to the nut 104. '"``
': '
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1~779~
A handle 106 is rigidly secured to the threaded member 102. When the
handle 106 is rotated, the non-rotatably mounted thread member 102 is longi-
tudinally and selectively moved in forward or reverse directions along the
elongated threaded member 102. With this movement, the crossing members
94 create a scissors type of action to vertically raise or lower the conveyor
assembly 84 to the desired level.
Referring particularly to FIGURE 3, the rear frame section or
cabinet 62 is rigidly interconnected to the main upright frame section 78. The
i:, rear frame section 62 includes a pair of upright, side cabinets 108 and 110
10 for enclosing a pressurized carbon dioxide tank 112, on one side of the frame
:
; 60, and a pressurized nitrogen tank 114, on the opposite side of the frame 60.
An intermediate lower cabinet 116 contains a pair of pressure accumulators
118 and 120 on opposite sides. One accumulator 118 is for accumulating
pressurized carbon dioxide therein and the other accumulator 120 is for stor-
, ing pressurized nitrogen therein. The purpose of the carbon dioxide tank 112
- ~ and accumulator 118 as well as the purpose of the nitrogen tank 114 and nitro-
.:
y gen accumulator 120 will be hereinafter described in greater detail.
' The base 68 also supports a laterally positioned lower cabinet 122 -
~ which contains a vacuum pump 124. The purpose and operation of the vacuum
, ~j; 20 pump 124 will also be hereinafter described in greater detail. Again, re_
, ferring in particular to FIGURES 1 - 4, the overhead frame assembly 64 is
generally positioned over the conveyor assembly 84 and over the base 68.
~ The open space between the conveyor assembly 84 and the overhead frame 64
- is provided for receiving the box B with its contents therein. This basic
geometry of the apparatus 50 is important in packaging articles in large
, quantities in relatively heavy packages as it supports such packages in a
position suitable for vacuumizing and/or gas addition, and heat sealing opera-
ji.~ .
j; tions performed by the apparatus.
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: 10779~ :
; The overhead frame 64 generally includes a front welded frame
section 126, a rear welded frame section 128, and a pair of opposed side
welded frame sections 130. The frame sections 126, 128 and 130 are each
. comprised of a plurality of longitudinal, transverse, and upright Erame mem-
bers which are welded together to form a rigid overhead support frame 64.
The various frames and cabinets, as shown and described, in the
case of meat processing are constructed of stainless steel panels and frame
. ~ members so as to be readily washed down after use. Similarly, all motors,
,,"J electric controls, and the like, are waterproof or splash proof for the same
~,
~.
10 reasons.
~:~ Referring particularly to FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, the bag gripping
~ section 54 is shown most clearly. The bag gripping section 54 includes an
`.,',:
elongated front manifold, generally 132, and an elongated rear manifold,
generally 134, which cooperates with the front manifold 132 to hold the open
upper end of the flexible container C in the desired position during the vacuum-izing, gas filling, and heat sealing of the flexible container C. Both the frontmanifold 132 and the rear manifold 134 are substantially parallel with each
~' ~; other and have their longitudinal axes aligned with the longitudinal axis of the
machine 50 itself. The front manifold 132 is movable in a substantially verti-
20 cal direction while the rear manifold 134 is movable in a substantially hori-
~,... .
zontal direction in a manner to be hereinafter described.
The front manifold 132 includes an elongated, rigid support section
;` 136 having longitudinal, interconnected passageways 138 located internally and
1. ~ extending for the entire internal length thereof. Passageways 138 interconnect
.. , with each of a plurality of inwardly facing openings 140 which extend substan-
tially along the upper and lower portions of the inwardly facing wall of the
; elongated support section 136 of the front manifold 13Z. The upper and lower
walls of the openings 140 are vertically spaced from each other and are sub-
:,
- stantially parallel with each other. The inwardly facing wall of the front
.' 1~
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manifold 132 has elongated upper and lower flexible sealing pads 142
adhesively, but replaceably bonded thereto. The pads 142 each include pad
openings 144 which are in substantial alignment with the openings 140 in the
metal support section 136. The openings 140 in the support section 146, the
pad openings 144, and the passageways 138 define a manifold which inter-
connects with a flexible hose 146 which selectively communicates with a
vacuum from the vacuum pump 124.
Intermediate the pads 142, there is provided an elongated, flexible
heat seal back-up pad 148 which, like the pads 142, is adhesively but replace-
10 ably bonded to the inwardly facing wall of the front manifold 13Z. The back uppad 148 is flexible to substantially the same degree as the sealing pads 142.
The purpose of the flexibility for the back up pad 148 and for the sealing pads
142 will be described hereinafter in greater detail.
The front manifold 132 is movably supported in a horizontal posi-
tion and for vertical movement by a pair of laterally spaced, fixed, upright
guide rods 150 which are rigidly mounted to the front portion 126 of the over-
head frame 64. Each of the guide rods 150 is rigidly held in a vertical posi-
tion by spaced lower and upper supports 154. As seen best, for example, in
FIGURE 8, a support assembly 156 is rigidly secured to the front face or
:.
20 front wall at each end of the front manifold 132 and is slidably received by
each of the guide rods 150 to thereby guidably support the front manifold 132,
;- in a substantially horizontal position, for vertical, reciprocal movement.
.,;~
Each bearing support 156 preferably uses two ball bushings to better assure
the appropriate level movement of the manifold 132. Ball bushings, sold under
the trademark Thompson, have been found to be particularly satisfactory.
~ The vertical, reciprocal movement is imparted to the front mani-
`; fold 132 by an air cylinder assembly, generally 158. The air cylinder
", assembly 158 is secured at its cylinder end to a support bracket 160 which is
fixedly secured to the front portion of the overhead frame 64, as seen best in
S
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107790:~
'
; FIGURES 1 and 7. Because of slight angular out of vertical movement of the
- cylinder assembly 158 during operation thereof, a pivot connection 162 is
provided between the assembly 158 and the bracket 160. A support member
164 is rigidly mounted centrally of the front portion of the front manifold 132
and a piston rod 166 of the air cylinder assembly 158 is pivotally secured
thereto by a pin 168 to permit slight relative movement therebetween. At the
,
appropriate signal, to be hereinafter described, the air cylinder 158 is acti-
vated by air pressure to selectively reciprocate the front manifold 132 down-
~',
wardly or upwardly, as needed.
;~, 10 The rear manifold 134, as disclosed priviously, is selectively re_
, .
ciprocally movable forwardly and rearwardly. The rear manifold 134 in-
.
cludes an elongated, rigid support section 170 which is substantially parallel
,r",.,
':;, and alignable with the front manifold 132. The opposite ends of the support
r
section 170 include support brackets 172, as seen best in FIGURES 5 - 7,
,:
rigidly mounted thereon. The support brackets 172 are rigidly secured to the
~ '
; outer faces of the support section 170 by bolts 174. The support section in-
cludes internal passageways 176 which extend for substantially the entire
.` length of the support section 172. The passageways 176 interconnect with a
; ~- plurality of frontwardly opening openings 178, which extend through the spaced
upper portion 180 and lower portion 182 of the elongated support section 170.
~;, A hollow space 184 is defined between the spaced upper and lower sections
. 180 and 182.
Upper and lower pads 186 are adhesively, but replaceably bonded
. to the outer face of the elongated support section 170 and are constructed of
.,, ~. .
.` . the same flexible material and in a manner similar to the flexible pads 142
:; which are similarly bonded to the front manifold 132. The pads 142 and 186
are made of foamed rubber. The pads 186 are bonded to both the upper and
~:
. lower sections 180 and 182. Pad openings 188 are provided in the pads 186
~, ,:"','' '
` and are in alignment with the openings 178 in the support section 172. The
'.:,'~
"~:
077901
pad openings 188 are provided in the pads 186 and are in alignment with the
openings 178 in the support section 172. The pad openings 188, the openings
1787 and the passageway 176 define a manifold which interconnects with a
flexible hose 190 which selectively interconnects to the vacuum pump 124. In
order that the manifolds 132 and 134 properly grip the flexible bag C, the pad
openings 188 are laterally and vertically offset from the pad openings in the
front manifold.
The rear manifold 132 is mounted for substantially horizontal
movement by two pairs of spaced pivot arms 192 which are pivotally secured
to each of the end support brackets 172. The lower ends of the arms 192 are
each pivotally secured at 194 to the brackets 172, while the upper ends of the
arms 192 are pivotally secured at 196 to transverse side sections 130 of the
overhead frame 164. With this support arrangement, the rear manifold 134
is movably supported in forward and reverse directions, while the outer
faces of the upper and lower pads 186 remain in a substantially vertical or
upright position so as to properly align with the front manifold 132 to grip a
flexible container C, as will be hereinafter described.
Referring to FIGURE 6, when the front manifold 132 is in the
lowered position, and when the rear manifold 134 is in the forward position,
the manifolds 132 and 134 cooperate to positively hold the open upper end of
the flexible container C in a closed position. The manner of accomplishing
this will be described hereinafter in greater detail. Vacuurn is selectively
applied by the vacuum pump 124 to the openings 188 in the rear manifold 134,
the bag or container C being held in place initially by such vacuum. More
specifically, the side of the container C adjacent the rear manifold 134 is
initially held in place against the pad openings 188 by vacuum in the mani-
fold 134. In order to positively hold the front panel of the container C, after
manual positioning and after the rear panel is held by vacuum against the
rear manifold 134, referring to FIGURES 8 and 9, a ~nechanical bag clamp,
17
...i .,
-``` 1077903
:
generally 198 is provided for positively gripping the upper ends of both panels
of the flexible container C against the upper pad 186 of the rear manifold 134.
The bag clamp assembly 198 includes an air cylinder assembly200
which is pivotally secured by a pivot member 202 to a support arm 204. The
support arm 204 is rigidly secured to the support section 170 of the rear
manifold 134. A piston rod 206 of the air cylinder 200 is pivotally connected
at 208 to an arm 210 which, in turn, is rigidly secured to one half of a hinge
clamp 212. The other half of the hinge clamp 212 is rigidly secured to the
support section 170, as best seen in FIGURES 8 and 9. When the air cylinder
200 is activated, the rod 206 moves from the position of FIGURE 8 to that of
FIGURE 9 so as to pivot the hi~e clamp 212 to the position of FIGURE 9, and
positively hold both sides of the upper end of the container C against the pad
186 until such time as the rear manifold 134 and front manifold 132 move into
.::
,j proximate relationship, as shown in FIGURE 6.
~",.. .
, It is also important, as seen best in FIGURE 8, that in the closed
.-
` - position, the passage or openings 140 in the front manifold 132 are to be off-
set, as discussed above, from the openings 186 in the rear manifold 134 so
that the vacuum applied against the opposite panels of the upper end of the
container C are not in direct opposition. If the passages or openings 140 and
20 170 are in direct alignment, the front panel of the bag or container C is not
under the proper influence of the vacuum in the front manifold 132.
Referring to FIGURES 5 and 6, the desired forward and reverse
movement is imparted to the rear manifold 134 by an air cylinder assembly
~. :
214. The cylinder end of the cylinder assembly 214 is pivotally secured at
` '' .
216 to a bracket 218 which is rigidly secured, as seen in FIGURE 7, to the
central portion of a longitudinal frame member of the rear section 128 of the
overhead frame assembly 64. The piston rod 220 of the cylinder assembly
; 214 is pivotally secured at a pivot pin 222 to a crank arm 224. The crank
arm 224 is, at its central portion, pivotally secured to a bracket 226 which
;` h~-
.`~ c~
.`,.::;
, . .
"` 1~)7790'1
is ixedly secured to the rear of the rear manifold 134. The lower end of the
crank arm 224 is pivoted to a link 228 at a pivot connection 230. The link
228, in turn, is pivotally secured at 232 to a bracket 234 which is fixed to the
central postion of the same frame member which carries the bracket 218. As
seen in FIGURE 6, when the air cylinder assembly 214 is activated, the
piston rod 220 moves outwardly and pivots the crank arm 224, thereby mov-
ing the rear manifold 134 to the full forward position for positively gripping
the open upper end of the flexible container C in a fixed position between the
manifolds for the operation of the machine 50. The link 228, in the position
shown in FIGURE 6 is in axial alignment with the lower section of the arm
224 to thereby act as a clamp to positively clamp the rear manifold 134 in
the full forward position against the front manifold 132.
As seen best in FIGURE 6, the vacuumizing and gas adding
assembly 56 is inserted into the flexible container C for the desired vacuum-
izing thereof and gas addition thereto. The assembly 56 is best shown in
FIGURES 1 and 5-7, and includes a pair of laterally spaced, upright air
.. ~
cylinder assemblies 236. Each of the air cylinder assemblies 236 is of sub-
stantially the same construction, so reference will generally be made to only
:: one of the air cylinder assemblies 236. Each air cylinder assembly 236 is
:
` ~. 20 pivotally secured at 238 to a support bracket 240 which is rigidly secured to
, the inner face of the front frame section 126 of the overhead frame 64. Each
:,. ., ~
~ of the cylinder assemblies 236 is located substantially equidistantly from the
., upright, central axis of the apparatus, as seen best in FIGURE l.E:ach
'.; - cylinder assembly 236 includes a downwardly extending piston rod 242. The
~:~,; lower end of each cylinder wall of the air cylinder 236 is rigidly interconnec-
- ted to an angle member 244, to interconnect to the lower ends of each of the
cylinder assemblies 236.
' Each end of each piston rod member 242 is rigidly connected to a
.
,::
: hollow snorkel member 246. Each snorkel member 246 includes an enlarged
~'' /'1;
. ., ~. .
,',: :, :
-
107790~
upper flange 248 having a passageway (not shown) therein interconnected to a
flexible hose 250, which selectively interconnects, by suitable valves, to a
vacuum or to a gas, as will be hereinafter described. A downwardly extend-
ing, elongated, substantially flattened hollow member 252 projects down-
wardly from the flange 248 and a passageway 254 is defined therein. The
passageway 254 interconnects with the passageway in the flange 248.
Referring particularly to FIGURES 19 and 20, the passageway 254
terminates with an open bottom and substantially longitudinal upright slots
256 adjacent the open bottom. The air cylinder assembly 236 is constructed
to permit at least the open bottom portions of the hollow members 252, in-
cluding the slots 256, to project into the interior of the flexible container C
so as to properly draw a vacuum therefrom or to add the desired gas thereto.
In order to properly align each snorkel assembly 246 within the
flexible container C and between the gripping manifolds 132 and 134, a
snorkel positioning assembly, generally 258 is provided. The positioning
assembly 258 includes a rigid stop member 260 having an upwardly project-
ing flange 262, the stop 260 being rigidly secured to the upper face of the rear
. .
, manifold 134. The positioning assembly 258 further includes an adjustable
~ stop member 260 which is rigidly secured to the overhead frame 64 which
:
20 projects forwardly therefrom. A forwardly projecting flange 266 has an ad_
,
justable threaded stop 268 on a rear upright flange 270 and an adjusta~le
threaded stop 272 on a front upright flange. The angle member 244, secured
to the air cylinder assembly 236, has a support 274 mounted thereon. The
support 274 has a rear downwardly projecting flange 276 and a front down_
wardly projecting flange 278 spaced from the rear flange 276. The rear
flange 276 is positioned intermediate the threaded stops 268 and 272.
. . .
As best seen in FIGURE 5, when the rear manifold 134 is in the
; full back position, the rear flange 276 on the support 274, secured to the air
cylinder assembly 236, engages the rear stop 272. When the rear r~lanifold
, . i, _ ,~ _
-
:1077901
134 is moved to the full forward pOSitiO11, as seen best in FIGURE 6, the
flange 262 of the stop 260 moves away from engagement with the front flange
278, and the rear flange 276 on the support 274 engages the front threaded
stop 268 so as to properly align the snorkel assembly 246 above the open
upper end of the flexible container C and intermediate the manifolds 132 and
134. The air cylinder assembly 236 moves forwardly, as the flange 262 on
the rear manifold 134 engages the angle member Z44 to push the vacuumizing
assembly 56 to -the forward position. The positioning assembly 258 assures
that the snorkels 246, which pivot about the pivot point 238, are properly po-
sitioned at all times relative to the substantially horizontally movable rear
manifold, particularly for insertion into the flexible container ~.
Referring to FIGURES 5 - 7, the heat sealing assembly 58 includes
a heating member comprising a tubular heating rod 282 positioned centrally
therein. The heat bar 280, preferably of aluminum for heat transfer pur-
poses, is movable from a rear position, as shown in FIGURE 5, within the
, hollow portion 184 of the rear manifold 134 to a full forward, heat sealing
!~"~ ~' position as seen in FIGURE 17. The heat seal bar 280 is then in alignment
with the heat seal back up pad 148 positioned on the front manifold 132.
The heat seal bar 280 is movable relative to the rear manifold 134
~, 20 by a pair of air cylinder members 284. Each of the air cylinders 284 is
). ~,
~; rigidly mounted, as best seen in FIGURE 7, on the rear wall of the rear mani-
, fold 128. Preferably, a threaded connection 286 is provided therebetween.
~: -
Movable piston rods 288 are rigidly interconnected at spaced positions to the
heat seal member 280.
:.. ..
Each of the cylinders 284 is positioned substantially equidistantly
on opposite sides of the central upright axis of the apparatus 50, as best seen
in FIGURE 7. When air pressure is applied to the cylinders 286, the heat
; bar 280 selectively moves forwardly or rearwardly to or from the heat seal-
ing operation, as will be described hereinafter in greater detail. When in
;
:
~:. "
, ` 1~77gO~
the full forward, heat sealing position, the rear manifold 134 through the
link 228 and arm 244, is clamped against the manifold 134 to offset the force
of the air cylinders Z84.
Apparatus 300 embodied in FIGURES 22 - 28 is of similar con-
struction to that of the apparatus 50 of FIGURES 1 _ 20. The apparatus 300,
like the apparatus 50, includes a package support frame, generally 302, a
bag gripping section, generally 304, a vacuumizing and gas adding assembly,
generally 306, and a heat sealing assembly, generally 308. The apparatus
300 includes several preferred structural and operative advantages to be
; 10 hereinafter described.
- ~ As in the embodiment of FIGURES 1 - 20, the articles to be pack-
aged, as meat pieces M, are placed within a flexible container D. The
flexible container D as shown most clearly in FIGURES 24 and 25, is desir-
; ably constructed of the same heat sealable, gas impermeable material as the
;.
; container C. The flexible container D is also substantially planar as seen in
.: ,
FIGURE 24 and includes a sealed bottom 310 and sealed sides 312. The seals
310 and 312 arepreferablyheat seals. An intermediate seal section 314,
which may be a single, relatively wide seal or two, separate but closely po-
. sitioned seals, is positioned between the sides 312 to thereby define a pair of
':
20 completely separate bag sections 316 having open upper ends. The bag D,
~' '' ,
- preferably includes serration 318 centrally of the intermediate seal 314 to de_
fine not only separate, but separable bag sections. As will be hereinafter
described, the bag D, having the sections 316, may be advantageously used,
for example, by lower volume butcher shops or restaurants, since the
double section bag D permits one section to be separated from the other sec-
tion and the contents therein used while the other bag section is not disturbed
and may be held for even longer periods of time without affecting the con-
trolled interior thereof and exposing the interior to the atmosphere.
~. '
~ : _ ,~ _
~A
:,
~790~
In describing the embodiment of FIGURES 22 - 29, reference will
be made specifically to the storage of meat pieces M within the double section
bag D, as best seen in FIGURES 25 and ~9. The apparatus 300 operates in
substantially the same way as the apparatus 50, and the frame 318 is of sub-
stantially the same construction and includes an upright support frame 320 to
which an overhead frame 3Z2 is rigidly secured. Also, the bag support frame
302 is of substantially the same construction as the conveyor assembly 84 of
the embodiment 50.
:,.
The bag gripping section 304 includes a vertically reciprocal front
.; 10 manifold 324 and a forwardly and rearwardly movable rear manifold 326. The
opposite ends of the front manifold 324 are each guidably supported for verti-
cal movement by bearing members (not shown~ mounted at each end thereof
, .
; having the same construction as the embodiment 50. As in the embodiment
50, the bearings are slidably guided by fixed upright rods (not shown) which
are fixed to the support frame 322. The desired vertical reciprocal move-
ment is imparted to the front manifold 324 by an air cylinder assembly 332.
The air cylinder assembly 332 is pivotally secured at 334 to the
. support frame 322 while the piston rod 336 thereof is rigidly secured at its
~: outer end to a support bracket 338 which is fixedly secured to the central por-
:
~: ~ 20 tion of the front manifold 324. Passageways 340 are provided in the front
. manifold 324 and the passageways 340 communicate with vacuum openings 342
in spaced upper and lower flexible sealing pads 344 on the front manifold 324.
, ......................................................................... .
: ~ A flexible heat seal back up 346 is positioned intermediate the sealing pads 344.
: The rear manifold 326 is guidably supported for forward and rear_
, ,.: .
ward movement by a pair of substantially upright pivot arms 348, pivotally
:`;~;,
. . secured at their upper ends to the overhead support frame 322. The lower
ends of the pivot arms 348 are pivoted to a pair of brackets 350, which are
... : secured to the opposite ends of the rear manifold 326.
:
~ ~ .
,
.
,
`~ o 7790~
The motive force for -moving the rear manifold 326 to the forward
:
; position is of somewhat different construction from the assembly used for the
apparatus 50. An air cylinder 35Z is positioned in a substantially vertical
:. position and is pivotally secured, generally above the rear manifold 326, at a
pivot connection 354 with the overhead frame 322. The piston rod 356 of the
air cylinder assembly 352 is pivotally secured to a toggle linkage 358. The
toggle linkage 358 includes a front link 360 and a rear link 362. As seen in
.: FIGURE 23, two toggle linkages are used and interconnected to a tie bar 363.
Each rear link 362 is pivotally secured at its rear end to a bracket 364 which
. .
~l,r 10 is fixed to the upright frame 320 and at its forward end to the tie bar 363.
The front link 360 is also pivotally secured to the tie bar 363 along the same
axis as the rear link 362 while the forward end thereof is pivotally secured to
a bracket 366 which is rigidly secured to the rear wall of the rear manifold
326.
The rod 356 is rigidly secured to the central portion of the bar 363.
.i . As seen in FIGURE 22, when the air cylinder 352 is activated, the links 360
and 362 of the toggle mechanism 358 are movable into substantially axial
.~
alignment with each other to thereby positively clamp the rear manifold 326
against the front manifold 324, as in the embodiment 50. The rear manifold
. ~ 20 326, as seen in FIGURE 22, also includes upper and lower flexible sealing
pads 368 which generally align with the vertically spaced sealing pads 344 on
.-: the front manifold 324. A hollow space 370 is defined in the rear manifold
i. .
~ 326 between the spaced sealing pads 344.
; ,:',,
~; The bag clamping mechanism, generally 372, for the embodiment
:
300 is somewhat different from the bag clamping mechanism used in the
` ".s
:~ apparatus 50. Referring to FIGURES 27 and 28, a pair of bag clamping
~:~ mechanisms 372 are laterally spaced along the rear manifold 326 and operate
to mechanically hold or clamp the upper edges of the bag D in a fixed position
against the upper sealing pads 368 after the bag D has been manually
,,
107~90~
positioned and before the bag D is under control of the vacuurn provided in the
manifolds 324 and 3~6. Each bag clamping mechanism 372 includes an air
cylinder assembly 374, which is pivotally secured, at its cylinder end, to a
pivot member 376 which, in turn, is secured to a support bracket 378. The
bracket 378 is rigidly secured to the rear wall of the rear manifold 326. A
piston rod 380 of the air cylinder 374 is pivotally secured at 382 to a clamping
., .
plate 384. The clamping plate 384 is pivotally secured to a bracket 386 at a
pivot connection 388, and the clamp plate 384 includes a downwardly extending
portion which is movable into position against the bag D to hold the upper
edges of the bag D against the upper sealing pad 368 of the rear manifold 326.
As with the embodiment 50, the bag clamps 372 act to hold the front bag panel
in place, the rear bag panel being under the influence of the vacuum in the
rear manifold 326.
The vacuumizing and gas addition assembly 306 of the apparatus
300 has significant advantages over that of the apparatus 50. The assembly
306 includes an upright air cylinder assembly, generally 39û. As best seen
. .
in FIGURE 29, the air cylinder assembly 390 is pivotally carried by a support
392 at a pivot connection 394. The support 392 is fixedly secured to the front
. of the overhead frame assembly 322. The lower end of the air cylinder
20 assembly 390 is rigidly secured to a cross support 396 at a central portion
;~ thereof. In order to provide stability for the cross support 396, the opposite
, ; ~
ends thereof, with the air cylinder assembly 390 positioned substantially
i,:
intermediate thereof, have a pair of upright support rods 398 secured thereto.
The rods 390 are pivotally secured at their upper ends to pivot connections
400 by a pair of support brackets 402 which are secured to the overhead
frame 322. The pivot connections 400 are coaxial with the pivot connection
394 for the upper end of the air cylinder assembly 390. The lower ends of
the rods 390 are rigidly secured to the opposite ends of the cross support 396.
i The rods 398, cross support 396, and wall portion of the air cylinder 390
generally define a pivoted frame.
~S
:
,
~ . i ,
. . .
10779(~1
The lower end of a piston rod 404 of the cylinder 390 is rigidly
secured to a cross plate 406 which is positioned below and substantially
parallel to the cross support 396. The cross plate 406, as seen in FIGURE
29, is reciprocal between raised and lowered positions.
; The cross plate 406 has laterally spaced apertures therein for
vertically slidably carrying a pair of snorkel assemblies, generally 408, at
the opposite ends thereof. Each snorkel assembly 408 projects downwardly
and includes a substantial~y flattened hollow portion 410 having an upper flange
412 unitarily fixed thereon. Each flange 412 includes a passageway (not shown)
10 therein which communicates with a central hollow passageway in the hollow
member 410. The passageways in the flanges sealably interconnect with a
flexible hose (not shown) or the like for selective communication with a
vacuum source or pressurized gas.
In order to properly guide the snorkel assemblies 408 for upward
and downward movement, the upper side of the flanges 402 each have a guide
rod 406 fixed thereto and projecting upwardly therefrom in substantial align-
ment with the upright axis of the hollow member 410. Each guide rod 416 is
slidably received by a bearing member 418 which is rigidly secured to the
upper side of the cross plate 406, in a position intermediate the air cylinder
~- 20 assembly 390 and one of the support rods 398, in closer proximity to the rod
!. '.,
398. The upper end of each guide rod 416 includes a stop or positioning
. flange 420 which is rigidly secured thereto.
As seen, the snorkel assemblies 408 are vertically and slidably
. carried by the cross plate 406 and are insertable into the flexible container
D. When the lower end of the hollow portion 410 of the snorkel engages a
~; meat piece M, that snorkel 408 stops its downward descent As indicated
::'
- best in FIGURE 29, even though one of the snorkel assemblies 408 stops, the
other snorkel assembly 408 continues its downward movement until it also en-
gages a meat piece M stored within the container D. The arrangement is
_ ~7
. ' ~`._
'
, . .
: 1077901
considered to have significant advantages over the snorkel assembly used in
the embodiment of apparatus 50 for better assuring proper evacuation. In the
snorkel assembly 408, the flexible bag D, during evacuation, is far less
likely to collapse around the vacuum openings 422 provided in the hollow mem-
bers 410 because these openings are further away from adjacent bag panels
which are likely to collapse. In this way, the desired vacuum in the flexible
, containers is more readily attainable to substantially remove all the air
the ref rom.
The apparatus 300 also includes a snorkel positioning assembly,
generally 424, for properly aligning the snorkel assemblies 408 relative to
the rear manifold, at all times, particularly for insertion and withdrawal of
the assemblies into the container D. The positioning assembly 424 provides
a more positive snorkel positioning and is preferred over the positioning
assembly 258 used in the embodiment 50. The positioning assembly 424 in-
cludes a generally upright rod 426 which is rigidly mounted in a vertical posi-
tion on the upper wall of the rear manifold 326. The upper end of the upright
-~ rod 426 is pivotally secured to an arm 428 at a pivot connection 430. The
, pivot connection 430 also pivotally interconnects with a linkage having a front
link 432 and a rear link 434. The front link 432 and rear link 434 are posi-
:;:,
~- 20 tioned in a generally upwardly angled direction. The rear link 434 is pivoted
,,:
at its rear end to a bracket 436 secured to the overhead frame 322. The
front link 432 is pivoted at its rear end to a support bracket 438 which is
~' mounted on the underside of the cross support 396.
~ When the rear manifold 326 is moved to the full forward position, as
;, seen in FIGURE 22, the upright rod 426 also moves forwardly thereby pivot-
,, .~,
~, ing the arm 428. The arm 428 pivots the links 432 and 434 into axial align-
' - ment as seen in FIGURE 22, to thereby positively position the snorkel
'i '
,j assemblies 408 at the required location above the opening between the mani-
:` folds 324 and 326, which initially hold the bag D open, for insertion and
. . ~7
, ": 1, - ~4 -
. .
.- .
107'7901
withdrawal of the snorkel assemblies 408 into and from the bag D.
The heat sealing assembly 308 for the apparatus 300 has substan-
tially the structure as the heat sealing assembly for the embodiment 50.
Therefore, the heat sealing assembly 308 will not be described other than
by reference to the embodiment 50.
OPERATION
The operation of both embodiments of our packaging apparatus,
described above, that is, the apparatus 50, illustrated in FIGURES 1 - 20,
and the embodiment 300 illustrated in FIGURES 22 _ 29, will be described in
10 conjunction with a description of our packaging process. For purposes of
simplicity in description of the operation, reference will more generally be
made to the apparatus 50 embodied in FIGURES 1 - 20. At times in this des-
cription, where there is a significant difference in operation as between the
two embodiments, reference will be specifically made to the apparatus 300
embodied in FIGURES 22-29. Also, in describing the sequencing of the equip-
. ment, the various controls used will be described and reference will be made
. to the pneumatic flow diagram of FIGURE 21 and the electric diagrams of
FIGURES 21A and 21B. Also, various limit switches, not previously des-
cribed, will be located and discussed in describing the operation and the
20 packaging process.
Referring first to FIGURES 1, 2, and 5, the operator of the appara-
tus 50 first places a flexible container C (or double section flexible container
D) into an open, substantially rigid box B. Generally, at a separate station,
the product to be packaged, as meat pieces M, are packed or placed, as seen
in FIGURE 5, in the flexible container C or D. When the desired quantity of
meat has been placed into the flexible bag, the box B and its contents are
` transferred to the packaging apparatus and placed on the conveyor assembly
84. The box is moved along its longitudinal axis into a position where its
opposite ends are substantially equally spaced inwardly from the opposite
", ~ ,: _ i~ _
'''', .
1~77901
ends of the front and rear manifolds 132 and 134. The height of the assembly
84 will have been previously adjusted to the desired level.
When the box B is thus positioned, the open end of the flexible con-
tainer C is in position to have the upper edges of the flexible container C heldagainst the vacuum openings 188, in the pads 186, in the frontwardly facing
rear manifold 134. Preferably, the machine frame 60 includes a rear flap
hold down bar 440 and side flap hold down bar 442 to assist in keeping the
- rear and end flaps of the box B out of the operator's way during operation of
the machine 50 or 300.
;:
At this time, the operator grasps the panels of the bag C or D along
its seams and along its open upper end and then manually stretches the upper
` ends of the panels into a substantially wrinkle-free condition, while the upper
.;
edges of the sides are positioned in substantial alignment with each other. A
;:- vacuum is then being applied to the openings 188 through the passageway 176
. '
and through a hose 190 which is selectively interconnected with vacuum from
the vacuum pump 124. The vacuum pump 124 desirably operates at a vacuum
.~ of about 25-29" Hg and this vacuum acts to hold the rear panel of the bag C
or D in a substantially wrinkle-free, open condition against these vacuum
, :..;
- openings 188. Atmospheric pressure acts against the rear panel of the flex -
: ~.
~ 20 ible bag C or D along the vacuum openings 188 in both the upper and lower
::
.i.~ pads 186 of the rear manifold 134. The operator has a clear view of the rear
manifold 134 because the front manifold is in a raised position and also the
~.';
i;,:,
, height of the rear manifold 134 is at substantially eye level.
;~ Although the upper edges of the bag C or D are desirably positioned
,,~,,. .~ .
in a substantially horizontal position, slight misalignment is not detrimental
: to the operation. In this regard, it is more ir~portant for the opposite panels
of the bag to be in such a position as to assure heat sealing thereof by the heat
~ seal bar 280, which operation will be hereinafter described in greater detail.
;Aj~"" Three longitudinally spaced bag stops 183 are preferably mounted on the rear
~ ,.......... .
.i . ~ j~'l
. :~ .
-
.
, . ;, , . : . ., , ~ :
. ' ' : '~ ~ '
' ' 1077901
:`
manifold 134 to assist the operator in properly initially positioning the bag C.
Referring to FIGURE 12, the start of the automatic sequencing
operation is shown. As shown, the heat sealing bar 280 is in the back or re-
tracted position, the snorkels 246 are in the raised position, and the front
manifold 132 is in the up position.
Once the operator has positioned the bag C or D in the described
manner against the rear manifold, little further skill is required from the
operator, as will be described. This is considered an important feature be-
cause of significant reduction in human error. When the bag C is manually
held against the pad openings 188 in the rear manifold 134, referring to
FIGURE 21, vacuum switch 443 senses an increase in the vacuum in the
vacuum lines because the openings 188 are closed to the atmosphere. When
the switch 445 senses that a vacuum of about 15-18" Hg is reached, the bag
, . . .
clamp solenoid valve 444 is energized, as shown in FIGURE 21, to permit
pressurized air, at normal plant air pressure, to pass to both of the bag
clamp air cylinders 214 of the embodiment 50, or in the embodiment 300, to
the air cylinders 374. (In this description, the coil of each solenoid valve
and the valve itself will be given the same reference number, for purposes
of simplicity. ) When this occurs, the bag clamping mechanisms 198 (or 372)
are activated to mechanically clamp both panels and particularly the front
panel of the bag C or D against the rear manifold, as best seen in FIGURES
8 and 9, for the embodiment 50 and in FIGURES 27 and 28, for the embodi-
ment 300. After the bag clamps have been activated, in addition to their
mechanical clamping function, their activation is a signal that the bag is
properly positioned and sequencing may commence. Thereafter, the opera-
tor moves his hands out of the way of the manifolds and the manually operated
switch 446, as seen in FIGURES 1 and 21A, is activated. From this time on,
.:.
the entire sequencing operation for the equipment is completely automatic and
, little further manual skill is required. One of the few instances where
~ 30
. ~ ~
~` ~07790~
assistance of the operator is called for is ~,vhen the bag C appears to have air
pockets, and may require the operator to manually move the bag panels to
substantially eliminate the air pockets; even this is generally found only in
the embodiment 50, and not in the embodiment 300.
Activation of the manual switch 446 performs several functions.
First, the closing of switch 446 activates the front manifold solenoid valve
448, which, in turn, energizes the drive cylinder assembly 158, to permit
pressurized air to enter the cylinder 158 and cause the front manifold 134 to
move downwardly, as indicated in FIGURE 12. The manual switch 446 further
activates a relay 449, seen in FIGURE 2 lA, the purpose of which will be
hereinafter described.
~s seen best in FIGURE 10, a limit switch 450, mounted on the
overhead frame 64, is positioned to be activated by a tripper 451 which is
rigidly mounted on the overhead frame 64. When this occurs, the front mani-
fold 132 is in the full down position and is generally horizontally aligned with
the rear manifold 134, as seen in FIGURE 13. The normally closed switch
450 is opened when the front manifold 134 is down, to thereby de-activate the
bag clamps to move them out of the way when the rear manifold 134 is moved
towards the front manifold 132.
.. 20 Referring to FIGURE 14, while the snorkels 246 are still in the up
:
'-; position, the rear manifold 134 is moved forwardly, like the de-activation of
~` . the bag clamps, when the limit switch 450 has been activated. The limit
: ~ switch 450 also activates a rear manifold solenoid valve 452 through time
delay switch 452A, as seen in FIGURES 21 and 21A, which permits pressur-
; . j
~,-," .
` ized air to be applied to the drive cylinder 124 to move the rear manifold 134
forwardly, as shown. As seen in FIGURE 21A, when the limit switch 450 is
closed, circuits controlled by a time delay relay 453 are affected. First, a
. switch 455 is activated to energize the vacuum solenoid 456 to apply vacuum
to the front manifold. When the misaligned pad openings 144 and 188 in the
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front and rear manifolds 132 and 134 engage opposite sides of the bag C by
means of vacuum in both manifolds, the front section of the bag C is under
control of the front manifold 132 while the rear section or panel of the bag C
is under control of the rear manifold 134.
When the delay switch 452A of the relay 452 times out, the valve
closes and the cylinder 124 reverses movement to move the rear manifold 134
rearwardly, as indicated in FIGURE 15, while the bag is opened because each
bag panel is under the control of the vacuumi~ed front and rear manifolds 132
and 134. When the rear manifold 134 reaches the full back position, a limit
.,
switch 457 is contacted. The snorkel solenoid valve 458, as seen in
, .
. .
, FIGURES 21 and 21A is energized to cause pressurized air to be applied to
; the snorkel cylinders 236 for moving the snorkels 246 downwardly into the bag
C, which is opened below the snorkels.
.~ .
The snorkel positioning assembly 258 (or 424) maintains the
. snorkels in a pre-determined position relative to the rear manifold. The
. ...
~` assembly 258 (or 4Z4) is mounted on the rear manifold and pivots the snorkel
` : ~
assembly in response to forward and reverse movement of the rear manifold.
This positioning is particularly important in positioning the bottom of the
. .
~ snorkels 246 in aligned relationship with the open bag. The snorkels are po-
.,:
sitioned substantially intermediate the manifolds 132 and 134 and thereby
centrally of the open portion of the bag.
`::
The snorkels 246 enter the open upper end of the bag C, as gener-
ally shown in FIGURE 15, while the rear manifold 134 is spaced back from..~
the front manifold 132. In the embodiment 50, of FIGURES 1 - 20, the
bottoms of the snorkels 246 are positioned to a predetermined level in the bag
~, ~ C, but below the manifolds 132 and 134. The open portions in the bottoms of
the snorkels must be completely within the bag C. The vacuum openings of
;~ the snorkels sometimes are closed by the bag panels and the operator may
,: . .,
have to manually pull the bag panels from the vacuum openings in order to
3~
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.,
~. .
`` 1077901
obtain a proper vacuum level.
In the embodiment of FIGURES 22_29, and as seen best in
FICiURE 29, the snorkels "float" or move to a level where the bottoms of the
snorkels 408 actually engage the surf ace of the meat pieces M. The cylinder
390 moves the cross plate 406 downwardly and the cross plate 406 carries the
snorkel members 408 downwardly. The snorkel flanges 402 rest on the cross
plate 406. When the bottom of the hollow member 410 strikes the meat ~
within the container C, further downward movement of that snorkel is stopped
even though the cross plate 406 continues its downward descent, together with
10 the other snorkel 408. The other snorkel continues until it also strikes a
meat piece. Thus, the hollow members 410 of the snorkel assemblies 408
extend downwardly into the flexible container to different levels, closer to the
meat, thereby providing better assurance that the desired vacuum level will
be reached without manipulation of the bag.
During the downward descent of the snorkel assemblies, the spac-
.. ing of the snorkels from the front and rear manifolds is determined, in the
i apparatus 50, by the snorkel positioning assembly 258 and, in the embodiment
300, by the positioning assembly 424.
~: .
Referring to FIGURE 11, a trip arm 461 on the snorkel assembly
`-~ 20 246 strikes the arm 462 on a limit switch 464, mounted on top of the rear
,~;.
manifold 134, for signaling when the snorkels 246 are in the down position.
When the switch 464 is so energized, it opens a circuit to de-energize the
relay 454 and closes a circuit to energize the coil of a solens)id 466 and open
: - the interior of the snorkels 246 to vacuum, as seen in FIGURES 21 and 21A.
:.
When the relay 454 has been de-energized, the normally closed
, delay switch 452A closes and the solenoid valve 452 is energized again, to
`~` move the rear manifold forwardly.
When the rear manifold moves forward, the limit switch 457
r,.~ '`
s changes circuits, as seen in FIGURE 21A, to de-energize solenoid 456 and
~ 33
;`
;,. .
- ~"
1077901
energize solenoid 460, and thereby cut vacuum to both manifolds 132 and 134.
As there is only a fraction of a second involved, residual vacuum holds the
bag in place until the manifolds are clamped together. Because the pads on
the manifolds are flexible, the interior of the bag C is sealed from the atmos-
phere. The manifolds 246 are in sealing engagement with the bag panels
which form around the hollow, passage defining portions of the snorkels.
When the container C is effectively sealed from the atmosphere, air is drawn
; from the container C through the snorkels 246 to remove substantially all the
air therefrom and create a vacuum therein. A suitable vacuum level is con-
10 sidered to be in the range of about 25-Z9" Hg. When the solenoid valve 468,
as seen in FIGURES 21 and 21A, detects a vacuum in the desired range of
:,
~ about 25-29" Hg, vacuum switch 468 closes. The switch 470 having been
:
closed previously by the relay 449, and the closed vacuum switch 468 cause
the coils of the nitrogen solenoid valve 472 and of the carbon dioxide solenoid
;~ ~ valve 474 to be energized. The vacuum switch 470 also energizes a relay 476
~; which, in turn, opens the switch 478 and cuts vacuum to the snorkels. With
. ~
~- the vacuum cut, a pre-determined quantity of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in
.:
, .
~ the accumulators 118 and 120 are charged into the evacuated bag C or D.
."
The amount of carbon dioxide and nitrogen added to the container
20 may vary over a wide range, depending on the material and amount thereof
` !' being packaged, and the size of the bag and its closed volume. In practice,
the accumulators are capable of receiving a measured volume of gas at a pre-
. selected pressure. Simply by changing the pressure level, the amount of gas
.
which is added to the bag can vary. In one example, 414 cubic inches of
: `
nitrogen and 414 cubic inches of carbon dioxide are added to the bag C per 75
;; pounds of beef; this provides a 50% concentration of carbon dioxide in the bag.
Depending on the various parameters, the added gas can vary over a wide
range, as 2-10 cubic inches per pound of meat product for each of the gases.
.',
_ ,~ _
... ..
': i
"
~ 107790~
Although the nitrogen is not considered to have any significant pre-
serving effect on the meat, it is believed that the nitrogen functions to reduce
; the concentration of the carbon dioxide. If the concentration of carbon dioxide
is at too high a level, the meat, as beef, begins to turn gray or darken, an
undesirable condition. Thus, the nitrogen, basically an inert gas, serves the
important function of providing a concentration of carbon dioxide at such a
level that the meat does not darken from exposure to carbon dioxide over ex-
. ; .
tended periods of time. It is considered an important feature of the process
to maintain the natural color of the fresh red meat, even over extended
periods of time, as for thirty to forty-five days.
~, Carbon dioxide is important in reducing bacteria growth. Bacteria
is generally always present on the surface of meat. In order to reduce the
growth of aerobic bacteria, air is first removed, and then, in order to in-
!~ hibit the growth of the aerobic bacteria, carbon dioxide is added. Carbon
dioxide also has the important effect of reducing or inhibiting the growth of
. ~ .
i anaerobic bacteria. Although vacuumizing is important for greatly reducing
. "~
~, the amount of enclosed air, residual air is generally present in the bag and
without the carbon dioxide, aerobic bacteria, as well as anaerobic bacteria,
~ can grow over extended periods of time. Such growth can be detrimental and
i . - 20 cause the bacteria level to increase beyond acceptable limits when the
apparatus 50 ~or 300) is used in the packaging of food products, as fresh meat.
, .:
For these reasons, carbon dioxide, at appropriate concentrations, is
portant.
~,J,'~ ~
It is also important in the process that, after vacuumizing, the
pressure in the flexible container is at substantially atmospheric pressure,
'r!" ' or slightly below. In the case of a vacuumized container C, the bag is
normally tight against the meat. Particularly in large bulk packaging of
products, as 50-100 pound packages, a condition at which the bag C is taut
':1,,
ri makes the bag susceptible to breakage. Also, if the gas pressure within the
.,,. 3'~
,,,, ~ _ ~ _
~,,,
~o7790~ .
container C or D exceeds atmospheric pressure, the bag can actually expand
ancl become stretched. A bag that is expanded from pressure in excess of at-
mospheric is also considered undesirable and susceptible to breakage during
handling. Thus, the container C should be in a substantially relaxed condi-
tion after complete processing, so as to be less susceptible to breakage, as
opposed to a flexible bag which is vacuumized or which is expanded from
pressure therein.
The vacuum switch 468, when closed1 energizes the time delay re-
lay 476, as previously described. The relay 476 includes a delay switch 480
. 10 which opens after a time delay sufficient to assure that the desired gases have
been added to the bag. Opening switch 480 de-energizes the coil of the sole-
noid 458, to cause the snorkels 246 to move upwardly and out of the bag C. A
delay switch 482 of the relay 476 also opens to de-energize solenoids 472 and
474 and close off the accumulators to the snorkels and open them to be
charged with the desired volume of gases from the carbon dioxide and nitro-
gen tanks. The pressure regulators 484 control the pressure and thereby vol-
ume of gases added to the respective accumulators.
As seen in FIGURE 17, the manifolds 132 and 134 remain in sealing
relationship with the sides of the bag C so that during the withdrawal of the
20 snorkels 246, the sealing of the open upper end of the bag C is substantially
unaffected because of the double, rear flexible sealing pads and the gaseous
atmosphere therein remains substantially the same. Also, since the gas in
the container C or D is at substantially the same pressure as the atmosphere,
there is no tendency either for air to enter the bag or for the gas to leave the
container C.
When the snorkels 246 have reached their full up position, limit
switches 486 are held in a closed position. A delay relay 488 is energized by
the closing of the limit switches 486. Also, this energizes the heat seal bar
solenoid valve 492 to cause pressurized air to operate the air cylinders 284
3C
;:
' ..
,,:................................... .
`` --" 1077901
::,
- to move the heat bar 280 forwardly to the heat sealing position. The bar 284
heats the adjacent bag panels to provide the heat seal 494 on the bags C or D.
The relay 488 also includes a delay switch 496 which is timed to open when
the desired amount of heating has occurred. The opening of this switch de-
energizes the solenoid 492 and the heat seal bar 284 retracts.
, At this time, the entire vacuumizing, gas adding and heat sealing
~- cycle having a variable duration, as about 15-25 seconds, is complete and the
~, . .
~; front manifold 132 returns to the up or start position. When the front mani-
fold 132 moves upwardly, the limit switch 450 opens and the rear manifold 134
,, .
- 10 moves rearwardly because the solenoid valve 452 is de-energized. The bag C
and box D are moved away from the machine for sealing of the flaps and the
`:; r
` machine is ready for a new cycle.
In the foregoing description, it is to be understood that only the
~'..;
~' more important aspects of the sequencing have been described, and there may
i~ be other sequencing operations occurring which are notherein described, but
which are schematically shown.
Preferably, a water supply 495 may be provided for flushing the
various lines with water, as seen in FIGURE 21. When the switch 496 is
. . .
i ~ ~ manually closed, the solenoid valve 498 is energized causing rinse water to
. .:
; 20 clean the lines.
Referring to FIGURE 21B, the electrical schematic for the vacuum
- pump motor 500 is shown. The fusing and grounding thereof is shown. The
lines 502 and 504 are the same as lines 502 and 504 in the electrical schem-
atic of FIGURE 21A.
. The thus processed packaged meat may be stored at refrigerating
j :,
'~ temperatures as about 35-50F. for periods of time as much as forty-five
,~
: ~ .
days without adversely affecting the fresh red color of the fresh meat and
~ without unduly increasing the bacteria count, whether aerobic or anaerobic
; bacteria are involved, beyond acceptable levels for human consumption.
`~ `- 3
,'`:'
. . .,~
i.,.
10~7901
One important result of the process is that the packaged meat
procluct permits natural tenderi.zation to occur without mold growth. As an
example, a beef rib, packaged as above, may be stored at a temperature of
about 41 F. for fifteen to thirty days and the meat is tender and tasty. The
aging or tenderization time can be significantly decreased by storing the meat
at a higher temperature, as about 50-59F., for three to five days, while re-
., .
; taining the red color o~ the meat and maintaining a low bacteria count. Even
after opening the package, the shelf life of the meat in a normal atmosphere
and at 360F. is approximately ten days.
10While in the foregoing, there has been provided a detailed
description of particular embodiments of the present invention, it is to be
understood that all equivalents obvious to those having skill in the art are to
be included within the scope of the invention as claimed.
~'
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