Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention xelates to checkout countexs. In
particular, this invention relates to a checkout counter suitable
for use in the retail mexchandise industry which incorporates a
bag making machine.
PRIOR ART
In the operation of the most widely used checkout counters,
it is customary to have a supply of ready-made bags available in
a knock-down or lay-flat configuration. Paper bags and plastic
bags are frequently used for the packaging of merchandise and
both are generally stored in a knock-down lay-flat configuration.
Paper bags have the advantage of being less expensive than plastic
bags a~d when opened they are easier to maintain in an open con-
figuration because they have sufficient rigidity. Plastic bags,
on the other hand, are limp and must be repeatedly opened in order
to admit each item.
Paper bags are normally manufactured by converters and
packaged in a knock-down configuration to minimize the volume and
to facilitate the handling of large quantities of bags. The bags
are transported to and stored by the retail outlets in the knock-
down or lay-flat configuration. While it is essential to fold or
crease the bag in its manufacture in order to permit it to assume
a lay-flat configuration, the creasing and folding has the disad-
vantage that it imparts a knock-down or lay-flat memory to the
bag. Thus, even after opening of the bag the bag continues to
have a tendency to collapse inwardly upon itself to lay-flat con-
figuratDn. This knock-down or lay-flat memory characteristic of
the bags is particularly undesirable in a checkout counter packing
; operation as it requires the packer to use one hand to hold the
bag open while loading items into the bag with the other hand.
Thus while,on the one hand, it is essential to crease the bag in
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order that it may assume a lay-flat configuration during
shipping and packaging, the lay-flat memory which is impaFted
by the creasing and folding is an undesira~le characteristic of
a bag for use in the packir,g of goods in a checkout counter.
A paperboard carton is a much more convenient receptable
for use in the packing station of a checkout counter. However,
cartons are impractical from the point of view of cost and the
fact that an elaborate opening operation would be required. A
carton would nevertheless have desirable characteristics in that
it is self-supporting in an open configuration so that the packer
may use both hands for loading merchandise into a carton.
In the operation of a groceteria, it is well known that
the principal bottleneck in the servicing is at the checkout
counter and a contributing factor to this is the time required
to bag the merchandise. The difficulty in opening and maintaining
the paper bags in an open configuration is a major contributor
to the delays in a packaging station. As previously indicated,
it is the fact that the bags have a knock-down memory which con-
tributes to the difficulty in maintaining bags in an open con-
figuratiDn during the packaging operation. In some instances,two clerks are required at each checkout counter, one clerk
recording sales and the other serving to load the goods into
the bags. Thus, the checkout operation is a labour intensive
operation and is, therefore, a costly operation. Ih the operation
of supermarkets where only one clerk is used at each checkout
counter, the entire checkout operation is slow. This results in
a deterioration in customer relations and may, in fact, result in
a reduction in sales volume.
From the foreoing comments it will be apparent that a
great many difficulties can be traced to the fact that the paper
bags which are used in checkout counters have a knock-down memory
imparted by ~he creasing and folding required in order to minimize
the space occupied by the paper bags during transportation from
the converter and in storage.
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While paper ~ags which are folded and creased to a
knock-down configuration o~cupy a volume which is substantially
less than that of the bags when open, they do nevertheless occupy
a substantially greater volume than that occupied by the roll
of bag forming material from which they are manufactured.
Furthermore, costs are involved in the packaging and bundling
of the bags into manageable units by the converter. Thus, if
the operator of the groceteria could utilize the roll stock used
by the converter, the storage space required for bags could be
reduced and the packaging and bundling costs of the converter
could be reduced. If the converter's operation could be eliminated
entirely, a substantial saving in the cost of bags could be
effected. This has been achieved by the checkout counter of
the present invention.
The difficulties involved in setting up or opening a
paper hag at a checkout counter have been known for some con-
siderable time and numerous attempts have been made to provide
bag opening machines which will open a pre-formed bag so that it
is accessible to a packer. Bag opening machines do not, however,
eliminate the-function of the converter. In addition, the bag
opening machines are constantly attempting to overcome the knock-
down memory characteristics of a bag. If the bag opening machine
does not correctly engage the opposite sides of a bag, the bag
will collapse inwardly to its c~osed configuration. While bag
ope~ machines have been previously proposed, such machines
have not enjoyed any substantial degree of commercial success and
it is believed that this results from the fact that the mechanisms
are not totally reliable in that they lack the ability to con-
sistently overcome the tendency of the knock-down bags to return
to their lay-flat configuration_
In other previous proposals, attempts have been made to
form plastic bags from a continuous web in a checkout counter.
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bag-making operation in these previous proposals has been one
in which a web of plastic material is folded lengthwise and is
heat sealed at longitudinally spaced intervals to divide the
web into a series of compartments, the web being sub~equently
severed along the seal lines in order to separate individual
bags from the web. The compartments formed by the heat sealing
operation are loaded with goods before the bags are severed
from the continuous web. Again, considerable difficulty is
experienced in attempting to maintain the sides of the web on
each side of the compartment in a spaced relationship and a bag
opening mechanism is required in order to maintain the bag in the
open configuration.
The difficulties of the prior art described above have
been overcome by mounting a bag-making machin~ which is adapted to
make self-supporting open bags from a web of self-supporting bag
making material, in the checkout counter and providing transfer
means for transferring open bags from the machine to the bagging
station in an op~n configuration. The manufacture of bags in an
open configuration and the transfer of the bags to the bagging
station in the open configuration overcomes all of the problems
w~iah are inherent in the knock-down bag usage.
The bagging operation is further improved by the provision
of a bagging station in the checkout counter which is adapted to
support the open bags in a generally upright configuration.-
The bagging operation may be further improved by the pro-
vision of a moving conveyor in the bagging station for moving bags
through the bagging station in an open configuration.
SUM~RY OF INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, a
checkout counter comprises a frame having a bagging station, a
bag-making machine in said frame for making a self-supporting
bag-making stock, and transfer means for tran5ferring an open bag
from said bag-making machine to said bagging station in an open
configuration.
According to a further aspect of the present invention,
the checkout C~unter has a baggin~ station which is adapted to
support an open bag in a generally upright configuration.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention,
the bagging station has a bag support ledge extending longitudin-
ally thereof which is arranged to support a bag in a manner such
that the weight of the bag will urge the bag inwardly of the
support ledge.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a
conveyor is mounted on the checkout counter and extends longitud-
inally through the bagging station along the support ledge. The
conveyor is operable to drive open bags longitudinally of the
support ledge.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention,
the bag-making machine is arranged to discharge an open bag
therefrom and which is oriented in a generally horizontal con-
figuration such that the open end thereof opens laterally there-
from, the transfer means being adapted to re-orient the bag to
a generally upright configuration as it is discharged from the
bag-making machine and'to transfer the bag to the bagging station
in the open upright configuration.
The invention will be more clearly understood after
reference to the following detailed specification read in con-
junction with the drawings wherein
Fig. 1 is a pictorial front view of a checkout counter,
partiall~ broken away, in order to illustrate the transfer mechanism;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the counter top along the
line 2-2 of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a pictorial view of the transfer mechanism for
transferring bags from the bag-making machine to the bag support
conveyor;
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Fig. 4 is a side view of a control cam for controlling the
operation of the transfer mechanism;
Fig. 5 is a side view of a second cam for use in controlling
the operation of the transfer mechanism;
Fig. 6 is a side view of a dog clutch cam for use in the
control of the timing of the transfer mechanism;
Fig. 7 is a top view illustrating the trans~er mechanism
and conveyor mechanism in the direction of the arrow 7 of Fig.
3;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows
8-8 in Fig. l; and
Fig. 9 is a detail view of an L-shaped segment of the
transfer conveyor.
With reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings refe-ence numeral
10 refers generally to a checkout counter of the type commonly
used in a groceteria or the like. The checkout counter comprises
a housing or counter enclosure generally identified by reference
numeral 12. The housing has an upper face 14 a~ong which a mov-
ing conveyor belt 16 extends from a receiving end to the bagging
station 18. The conveyor 16 is of a conventional construction
extending around a driven roller 20 at one end thereof and a
support roller 22 at the other end thereof with tension applied
thereto by means of tensioning rollers 24.
A bag-making machine 30 is mounted within the housing 12.
The bag-making machine is preferably of the type described in
our copending application Serial No. 326,494, filed April 27,
1979. The bag-making machine 30 manufactures open bags 32 which
are creased along longitudinal crease lines 34 so that the bag
has a memory which serves to maintain the bag in an open con-
figuration. Thus when the bags are discharged from the bag-
forming machine, they retain their open configuration. The
bag-making machine 30 is arranged so that the discharge opening
35 thereof is disposed above the transfer platform 36.
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The transfer platform 36 is generally L-shaped and
has base wall 38 and side wall 40. The platform 36 is pivotally
mounted at hinge 42 to a support arm 44, the other end of which
is mounted on a longitudinally extending frame member 46. As
will be described hereinafter, th~ platform 36 is movable
between the receiving position shown in ~ig. 1 and the discharge
position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. When the receiving
position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the platform 36 is
spaced below the discharge opening 35 of the bag-forming machine
so that when a bag is discharged from the bag-making machine,
it will fall under its own weight onto the platfoxm. As shown
in Fig. 1, the side wall 40 extends to a point closely adjacent
the discharge opening 35 of the bag-forming machine.
In order to support the bags in their open configuratisn
in the bagging station, a ledge generally identified by the
reference numeral 50 extends logitudinally through the bagging
station. The ledge provides a bottom support wall and a side
support wall and is inclined inwardly from the vertical plane
toward the counter so that the weight of the bags and their
contents tend to urge the bags inwardly toward the counter so
that they are substantially self-supporting on the platform.
In order to prevent the accidental lateral displacement of the
bags from the counter before they are loaded, a support rail 52
has one end secur~ at 54 to an upright frame member 56 and extends
in a spaced parallel relationship with respect to the ledge 50.
The bar 52 terminates at a point about one bag width
into the loading station so that the bags will be at least
partially loaded before they move longitudinally beyond the end
of the support bar 52. After partial loading of the bags, the
weight of the contents serves to maintain the bags on the ledge.
A conveyor mechanism 60 serves to transport the bags
through the bagging station. The conveyor mechanism 60 is
best illustrated in Figs. 7 and ~ of the drawings to which
reference is now made. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the
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drawings, the frame of the checkout counter includes vertical
support posts 62 (only one of which is shown~, each of which
supports angularly inclined posts 64. Guide plates 66 are
mounted on the posts 64 and extend normal thereto. The guide
plates 66 have guide rails 68 extending longitudinally of the
side faces thereof and spaced therefrom by support brackets 70
to form chain slipways 72. Drive sprockets 74 and 76 are mounted
on shafts 78 and 80, respectively, which ~e mounted on support
brack~s 82 arranged at opposite ends of the support plates 66.
It will be understood that two drive sprockets 76 are located
on theshaft 80 and two drive sprockets 74 are located on the
shaft 78. Chains 84 and 86 are arranged one above the other
and extend around sprockets 74 and 76.
A plurality of L-shaped segments 90 are mounted on the
chains 84 and 86 in a side by side relationship. The L-shaped
sigments 90 are best illustrated in Fig. 9 of the drawings wherein
it will be seen that each segment includes a back support panel
92 a~ a bottom support panel 94. ~he segment illustrated in
Fig. 9 of the drawings also has a pusher blade 96 which projects
forwardly from the back support panel 92. It will be apparent from
Fig. 1 of the drawings that every third L-shaped segment 90 is
provided with a pusher plate 96. A sufficient space is provided
between each successive pusher plate 96 to permit a bag 32 to be
located therebetween. It will be noted that the outer edge of
I.he pusher plate 96 has an angularly inclined portion 98 which
sexves to provide clearance with the back wall 100 of the checkout
counter as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings so that the width
of the checkout counter can be maintained to a minimum. Each
segment 90 has a pair of mounting bxackets 102 projecting rear-
wardly therefrom. Each mounting bracket has a passage 104 atone end thereof and an elongated slot 106 at the other end
thereof. Elongated pins 108 project outwardly from the chains 84
and 86 and extend through passages 104 and 106. The passage
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o is elongated to permit movement of its associated pin 108
so that the chain can negotiate the curved portion of its path
extending around sproc~ets 74 and 76.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 8 of the drawings, the conveyor
mechanism 90 is driven by rotatably driving the shaft 78 through
bevelled gears 110 and 112. The bevelled gear 112 is mounted
on a drive shaft 114 which is driven by a sprocket 116 which
is in turn driven by a drive chain 118 (Fig.3). The drive
; chain 118 is driven by the main drive motor 120 through a
reduction gear box 122 and a sprocket 124 mounted on the output
drive shaft 126. A chain tensioning sprocket 128 is provided
for maintaining the required tension in the chain 118.
The mechanism which controls:-the movement of the
, platform 36 will now be described with reference to Figs. 1,
3, 5 and,6.of the drawings. As previously indicated, the platform
36 is pivotally mounted at 42 on the arm 44. A connecting rod
130 connects a bracket 132 which is mounted on the base plate
38 of the platform to a.lever arm 134 which projects out~ardly from
a shaft 136. The shaft 136 is mounted to pivot in brackets 138
which are located at opposite ends thereof. A second lever
: arm 140 projects radially outwardly from the shaft 136 and has
its outer end connected to one end of a connecting rod 142.
The other end of the connecting rod 142 is connected to one arm
144 of a rocker arm generally ldentified by the reference
: numeral 146. The rocker arm 146 (Fig. 5) is pivotally
mounted on a pivot pin 151 and has a second arm
i 148 projecting outwardly therefrom. A cam follower 150 is located
at the outer end of the arm 148. The cam follower 150 is positioned
. in a cam track 152 which is formed in a cam plate 154. The cam
track has four distinct camming surfaces extending through arcs
Al, Bl, Cl and Dl. The cam plate 154 is keyed to a shaft
156 by means of a locking key 158. The shaft 156 is connected
to the main dri~e shaft of the bag.-maki~ machine 30 and
is rotatably driven whent~e bag-making machine 30
is activated to manufacture a bag. The cam plate 154
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is rotatably drlven in the direction of the arrow 160 by the
shaft 156. When the cam follower 150 is located at the
position shown in Fig. 5 at the beginning of the arc Al, the
platform 36 is located in the receiving position illustrated
in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Rotation of thecam plate 154 over the
arc Al causes the platform 36 to be elevated to the discharge
position in alignment with the platform 60. Rotation over the
arc Bl retains the platform in the elevated position and
rotation over the arc C~ lowers the platform to the receiving
position, again shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Rotation over
the arc Dl retains the platform in the lowered or receiving
position.
The transfer mechanism also includes a lateral sh~ft
mechanism or moving the bags from the platform onto the
conveyor. The lateral shift mechanism is best illustrated in
Figs. 3 and 7 of the drawings. The lateral shift mechanism
; includes an L-shaped blade member 170 which has a section 172
extending in a plane which is parallel to the plane of the side
support wall 40 of the platform when the platform is located in
the elevated position. The L-shaped member 170 also has an arm
174 projecting inwardly to a bracket 176, on which it is securely
; mounted. The bracket 176 is supported on a parallelogram linkage
178. The inner ends of the linkage 178 are pivotally mounted at
, 18~, with the outer ends thereof pivotally mounted at 182 on
the bracket 176. A support bar 184 underlies and supports the
parallelogram linkage arms 178. The support bar 184 is in turn
supported by the ~ransverse frame member 186 and a second trans-
verse frame member (not shown) so that it supports a major component
of the weight of the pusher arm. The parallelogram linkage 178
is driven, as will be described hereinafter, between a first and
second position to move the pusher plate 170 between ~he retracted
pOSition shown in broken lines in Fig. 7 and the advanced position
shown in solid lines in Fig. 7 so that it may engage a bag 32 and
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move the bag longitudinally of the platform onto the support
ledge. The parallelogram linkage arms 178 are driven by power
supplied through the drive shaft 156 which, as previously indicated,
is a power output shaft of the bag-making machine 30. A cam
182 is keyed to shaft 156 by a key 184 (Fig. 4). The cam 182
has a cam track 186 formed with three different cam sections
A, s and C. The cam follower 188 is mounted for movement along
the cam track 186 and is supported by an arm 190 which projects
outwardly from a lever arm 192. One end of the lever arm 192 is
mounted on the shaft 148 and the other end of the arm 192 has
a connecting rod 194 connected thereto. The connecting rod 194
(Fig.3) is connected to a lever plate 196. The lever plate 196
is pivotally mounted on a support shaft 1~8 and is connected
to parallelogram link arms 178 by a connecting rod 200.
In the operation, rotation o the shaft 156 from the
position shown in Fig. 4 over the arc A causes the parallelogram
link mechanism to move the transfer blade 170 from the position
shown in solid lines in Fig. 7 to the retracted position shown
in chain lines in Fig. 7. Further rotation through the arc B
serves to retain the transfer plate 170 in the retracted position
and rotation through the arm C moves the transfer plate 170
from the retracted position to the advanced position shown in
Fig. 7.
The operation of the bag-making machine and the
transfer mechanism is cyclic such that in one complete cycle a
, bag is manufactured by the bag-making machine while the bag
which was previously manufactured is transferred to the conveyor
and indexed along the conveyor a distance equal to the width
: of one bag. The operation of the bag-making machine and the
transfer mechanism and conveyor is limited to one cycle for each
demand signal by a cam 210 (Fig. 3) which is mounted on shaft
156. The cam 210 has operating arcs A2, B2 and C2 which perform
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distinctly different functions. A follower 212 is located
at the end of the arm 214 of a rocker arm 216 which is pivotally
mounted on a pivot pin 218. The arm 220 at the other end of the
rocker arm 216 has a shoulder 222 which engages a corresponding
shoulder on a clutch plate 224.
Rotation of the shaft 156 from'the position shown in
Fig. 6 of the drawings effects a rapid release of the clutch
during rotation over the arc A2. Further rotation over the arc
B2 retains the shoulder 222 out of engagement with the clut~h 224
to permit a plurality of rotations of the shaft 126 on which the
clutch plate 224 is keyed. Thereafter, during rotation over the
arc C2, the shoulder 222 is urged inwardly to interrupt the
power supply to the transfer mechanism by engagement with the
corresponding shoulder formed in the clutch plate 224.
The number of bag-making operations carried out by the
bag-making machine is counted by a counter 230 tFig.3) which
has an operating arm 232 connected by a spring 234 to lever
arm 192.
In use, two rolls of paper stock 240 and 242 are
mounted in the housing on suitable unwindingsupport shafts and the
web from the first roll 242 is fed to the bag-maki~ machine.
The power is supplied to a~tivate the main drive motor 120 of the
bag-making machine to drive the main drive shaft 156 through
a chain and sprocket arrangment ~not shown) which drivingly
connects the shaft 126 and shaft 156 as described in application
3 a L, L~ 9 ~ I q ~ 9
Ser. No. ~10,737, filed ~ay 30,1~7~. The power supply being
controlled by a foot pedal operated by the packer at the checkout
counter. The bag-making machine 30 will then operate to manufacture
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a bag by forming the web around the square mandre,l250 and
sealing the web to the required bag-forming configuration and
- severing the bag forming length of web from the continuous web.
The transfer mechanism will have operated through
,~ one complete cycle simultaneously with the operation
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of the manufacture of the bag. However, because a bag was not
previously manufactured, no actual transfer will have taken place.
The operation of the bag-making machine is now interrupted with
a bag having been manufactured and ready for discharge. The
transfer mechanism is located in the position in which the
transfer platform 36 is in the receiving position illustrated
in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The operator again actuates the con-
trol panel and the bag which was previously manufactured begins
its discharge from mandrel 250 onto the transfer platform.
Simultaneously, the web which is unwound from roll stock 242
begins to move along the guide path formed around the mandrel
250. Thus, while a bag is being discharged from the bag-making
machine the bag-making machine is simultaneously operating to
produce the next bag. Operation of the bag-making machine causes
rotation of the main drive shaft 156 and its associated cams 154,
182 and 210. At the beginning of each transfer cycle, the plat-
form 36 is located in the receiving position illustrated in
Fig. 1, as previously described, and the transfer blade 170 is
located in the position shown in Fig. 1 and in chain lines in
Fig. 7 in which itis spaced outwardly from the transfer platform
on the opposite side thereof to the transfer conveyor mechanism.
Rotation of the drive shaft 156 serves to control the operation
and timing of the movement of the transfer platform through cam
154, the transfer blade 170 through cam 182, and the conveyor
50 through cam 210. As previously described, operatio~ of the
cam 154 through one complete rotation causes the platform to be
elevated from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown
in Fig. 3, the platform being maintained in the elevated position
while the transfer pusher blade 170 is activated to move laterally
across the platform to drive a bag onto the conveyor platform
which is being simultaneously driven lengthwise. It will be
noted from Fig. 7 of the drawings that the timing of the
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forward movement of the conveyor is such that the pusher plate
96 remains out of the chute line of the discharging bag at
least until the transfer blade 170 is withdrawn.
` From the foregoing it will be apparent that the checkout
counter of the present invention incorporates a bag-making
machine and appropriate transfer mechanisms for manufacturing a
bag and transferring the bag in an open configuration to a pack-
ing station. The method of manufacture of the bag and its trans-
fer is such that the bag is not pre-formed with any crease lines
which impart a knock-down memory to the structure of the bag with
the result that the bag has an inherent tendency to assume an
open configuration and to remain in an open configuration at
all times. This greatly facilitates the loading of the bag at
the checkout counter station. In addition, it will be noted
d 15 that bags are made in the checkout counter from roll stock,
thereby overcoming the problems previously encountered in
storing large quantities of hnock-down paper bags. These and
other advantages of the apparatus of ~e present invention will
be apparent to those skilled in the art.
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