Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02291563 1999-12-03
- 1 -
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FILLING CASES
WITH BAG CONTAINING DEFORMABLE PRODUCTS
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a case loading
machine and method of operation for positioning at least two
flexible bags, having an unstable product therein, in a case
and in side-by-side contact with one another.
BACKGROUND ART
Various machines are known for casing unstable
products that are contained in bags. However, most of these
machines and processes simply drop predetermined number of
packages in an open top end of a box and the box is sized to
accept predetermined quantities of these products which are
released in an orderly or disorderly fashion. Many known
case loading machines also utilize vacuum suction cups to
engage, displace and position products within a case. A
typical example of machines for packaging flexible packages
is described in U.S. Patent 5,044,143.
When handling flexible bags which contain an
unstable product therein, such as milk pouches, the bag
deforms itself by the weight of the liquid therein and the
bottom part of the bag expands. This poses problems when a
predetermined number of bags need to be positioned within a
case in an orderly fashion whereby the bags are all visible
from the open top end of the case while at the same time the
bags occupy a substantial portion of the volume of the case.
Heretofore, these products have been packaged in boxes or
cases in a disorderly fashion stacked one on top of each
other. Consequently, the bag at the bottom of the box bears
the weight of all the other bags on top of it. This often
causes the bottom bags to burst during manipulation of the
case or when in transit in a vehicle, particularly when the
vehicle is subjected to rough road conditions imparting
movement and shocks to the cases. Not only does the bag at
CA 02291563 1999-12-03
- 2 -
the bottom of the case burst, but the liquid products within
the bags will often soil bags in adjacent cases depending on
how these cases are transported and disposed in the vehicle.
The result of this is very costly and time-consuming to
rectify.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to
provide a case loading machine and method of operation which
is capable of positioning at least two flexible bags, having
an unstable product therein, in a case and in side-by-side
contact with one another while occupying a substantial
volume of the case and machine and method substantially
overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior
art.
According to the above feature, from a broad
aspect, the present invention provides a case loading
machine for positioning at least two flexible bags, having
an unstable product therein, in a case and in side-by-side
contact with one another. The machine comprises case
engaging and displacement means having at least one rigid
division wall plate positionable inside the case from an
open top end of the case to divide the case into two or more
compartments of predetermined size. The case engaging and
displacement means holds the case at a loading position with
one of the compartments aligned at a bag receiving position.
Bag engaging and transfer means is provided for engaging one
of the bags, from a bag filling position, and transferring
same in the said one compartments aligned at the bag
receiving position. The bag engaging and transfer means has
compression means to compress the flexible bag and displace
the unstable product therein whereby the bag is sized to
enter into the aligned one of the compartments. The case
engaging and displacement means displaces the case to align
the other of the two compartments, sequentially, at the
loading position to each receive a further bag from the bag
CA 02291563 1999-12-03
- 3 -
engaging and transfer means. Means is provided to feed
another case to the case engaging and displacement means.
According to a still further broad aspect of the
present invention there is provided a method of positioning
two or more flexible bags, having an unstable product
therein, in a case and in side-by-side contact with one
another. The method comprises the steps of engaging a case
at a case loading position from an open top end thereof and
segmenting the case into compartments. The method also
includes displacing the case to position the compartments,
in sequence, at a bag receiving position. The filled bag
with the unstable product therein is displaced to a bag
transferring means. The bag with the unstable product is
then compressed in the bag transferring means to size the
bag to enter into the compartment positioned at the bag
receiving position. The case is then displaced to load all
of the compartments in sequence at the bag receiving
position. The case, filled with a predetermined quantity of
the bags is then released and another case is engaged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention
will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of the case
loading machine of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the case
engaging and displacement mechanism incorporating the
compartment division walls;
FIG. 3a is a fragmented side view of the bag
loading chute and the top end of the inclined conveyor;
FIG. 3b is a fragmented perspective view of a bag
being loaded with pouches having an unstable product
therein;
FIG. 3c is a simplified side view showing how a
bag is opened;
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 4 -
FIG. 3d is an end view of the chute and the trap
door linkage assembly;
FIG. 3e is a side view of FIG. 3d showing the bag
engaging and transfer mechanism;
FIG. 4 is a top view of the bag engaging and
transfer mechanism and the case positioning system; and;
FIG. 5 is a fragmented simplified top view
showing the construction of the case engaging and
displacement mechanism.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings, and more
particularly to Figure 1, there is shown generally at 10 the
case loading machine of the present invention associated
with a feed conveyor and bag filling machine 22. More
specifically, the case loading machine 10 as herein
described is utilized for placing plastic bags 21,
containing a plurality of small liquid pouches 12, into a
case 11 and in side-by-side relationship therein while
occupying a substantial portion of the volume of the case.
As shown in Figure 1, small pouches 12 are formed
and filled with a liquid, such as milk, by two Thimonier1"
machines 13 and the pouches 12 are released on a conveyor 14
which forms part of a feed conveyor assembly. A counting
device 15 is associated with the conveyor 14 to count the
pouches passing by the counter and feeds signals to a
controller 16 which counts these. A piston actuated stop
gate 17 separates batches 18 of pouches 12 with each batch
having a predetermined quantity of pouches and releases the
pouches that have been momentarily stopped to a second
inclined conveyor 19 which is provided with pusher bars 20
to convey the batches 18 up the inclined conveyor 19. After
a predetermined number of pouches are released on the
inclined conveyor, past the stop gate 17, the stop gate is
actuated to start accumulating pouches for a short period of
time only sufficient to effectuate a bagging cycle, as will
be described later. Accordingly, the stop gate may
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 5 -
accumulate only a small portion of the pouches of a batch to
separate the batches from one another on their way to the
bag filling station 22.
The inclined conveyor 19 has side plates 23 to
prevent the pouches from falling off the conveyor 19. It
also has a chute 24 at a discharge end of the conveyor 19 to
guide the pouches into the open top end 25 of a bag 21 held
under the chute, as illustrated in Figure 3B.
As shown in Figures 3a, 3b, 3d and 3e, the chute
24 is provided with a piston operated bottom trap wall
assembly 26 which consists of a pair of hinged plates 27
which are secured to a linkage 28 to cause the plates 27 to
pivot on their pivot 29 when respective pistons 30 are
operated. The pistons 30 are operated by control signals
from the controller 16. The hinge plates 27 close after a
batch has been discharged so as to permit the filled bag 21"
as shown in Figures 1 and 3b, to be removed from under the
chute 24 and another bag 21 from the series of bags 21'
supported on wicket pins 31 to be opened and secured under
the trap wall, see Figure 3c. By that time, the chute 24
has accumulated leading ones of the pouches 12 of the next
batch 18 of pouches and when the bag is in its open
position, a signal is sent to-the controller 16 and the trap
door assembly is actuated to open the hinge plates 27. The
trap door remains open with the pouches being dumped into
the chute and directly into the open bag 21' held thereunder
until the last pouch of the next batch is discharged. The
trap door assembly then closes and the cycle repeats itself.
Figure 3c illustrates the bag opening means and it
is of a type well known in the art. It consists of a bag
supply formed by a plurality of collapsed bags 21' held on
wicket pins 31 and these bags are maintained in
juxtaposition. A first one of these bags, filled bag 21",
is opened by directing an air jet 32 in the area of the
mouth opening 33 thereof to cause the front wall of the bag
to move out in the direction of arrow 34. A bag clamp
mechanism 35 moves in to clamp the top edge portion 36 of
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 6 -
the filled bag 21" and pull it open in the direction of
arrow 34. A side transfer clamp. assembly 37, as shown in
Figure 3b, is operated by a piston 38 and moves in towards
the filled bag 21" with the clamp finger 39 in an open
position, as shown. It moves over the top side edge 40 of
the open filled bag 21" and then clamps a side wall of the
bag onto the backing plate 41 to positively engage the side
wall of the bag. The bag is then filled with the product
and after it is filled the piston 38 is actuated to transfer
lo the filled bag from under the chute 24 with the aid of a
transfer conveyor 44. As described hereinabove, the trap
wall 26 is now closed and the next bag is opened and the
cycle repeats itself.
When the bag engaging and transfer clamp assembly
37 is moved away from of the bag filling station 22, it rips
the filled bag attaching panel 42 from the wicket pins 31.
The piston 38 has a piston stroke sufficient to move the
side transfer clamp assembly 37 along the guide rails 43
(see Figure 4), and it moves at the same speed as a transfer
conveyor 44 located under the bags 21 so that the filled bag
once ripped off its wicket pin is immediately supported on
the transfer conveyor and not subjected to a drag force.
The side transfer clamp assembly 37 retain the
filled bag 21" until it is transferred between a pair of
spaced-bag engaging and compression transfer plates 45, as
shown in Figure 4. Once the filled bag 21" is positioned
between the bag engaging and compression transfer plates 45,
the transfer conveyor 44 is arrested. As shown, the bag
engaging and compression transfer plate assembly is
comprised by a stationary vertical plate 46 having an
inturned support lower ledge 47 and a displaceable vertical
plate 48 also provided with a lower support inturned ledge
49. The displaceable plate 48 is displaceable to and away
from the stationary plate 46 by a piston 50 whose operation
is again controlled by the controller circuit 16. The plate
48 is displaced in substantially planar parallel
relationship to and away from the stationary plate 46 from a
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 7 -
bag receiving position "A", where the plate 48 is further
away, and then to a compression position "B" where the
plates are spaced closer to one another to squeeze or
compress and support the filled -bag 21", such as the bag
shown at 51 in Figure 4, in a compressed state. This sizes
the filled bag to enter into the compartment 52 of the case
11 positioned in alignment at the bag receiving position 53.
The plates 46 and 48 are connected to the frame 50' which is
displaceable on guide rod 50" to position the plates with a
filled bag 21" compressed therebetween over the compartment
52. The plate 48 is then retracted by the piston 50 to
unload the compressed bag 51 in the compartment 52 and the
frame 50' is retracted to its bag receiving position, as
shown in Figure 4. A photocell 54 detects the transfer of
the filled bag 51 into the compartment 52 of the case 11 and
feeds a signal to the controller 16. The controller 16 then
causes a case engaging and displacement mechanism 55, as
shown in Figure 1, to operate.
The description of the case engaging and
displacement mechanism 55 will now be described with more
specific reference to Figures 1, 2, 4 and S. As shown in
Figure 2, it consists essentially of a rectangular case
engaging frame 60, which is dimensioned to fit inside the
case 11, and in close fit adjacent opposed side walls 11' of
the case. The case engaging frame 60 is constituted by
opposed top parallel flange walls 61 and two division wall
plates 62. The division wall plates 62 extend below the top
flange walls 61 and are dimensioned to fit inside the case
close to the bottom wall 11" of the case. The top flange
walls 61 have a front flared top portion 61' to guide the
compressed bag within the compartments 52 which are formed
between the top flange walls and the division wall plates.
Of course, depending on the sizes of the bags and the sizes
of the cases, there may be only one division wall to form
two of the compartments 52 or there could be several
division walls 62 to form may compartments 52.
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 8 -
The case engaging frame 60 constitutes a case
engaging and displacement means by being secured to a piston
actuated indexing frame 64. As shown in Figure 5, the case
engaging frame 60 is connected to a vertical displaceable
support frame 60' which is actuated by a piston 66 which is
controlled by the control circuit 16 to cause the frame 65
to move up and down to engage and to disengage from a case
11. The vertical displaceable support frame 60' is mounted
on an indexing frame 66' capable of displacing the case
engaging frame laterally at right angles to its vertical
displacement. This permits the displacement of the case
engaging frame 60, when engaged with the case, and
consequently the case secured thereto to be displaced
adjacent the loading position 63 so that each compartment 52
of the case defined by the division plates 62 can be
displaced, in sequence, adjacent the loading or bag
receiving position 53 to receive a compressed filled bag 51
with pouches therein and to guide the bag inside the case.
The case engaging frame 60 remains in the case until all
three compartments 52 have been filled. After a case is
fully loaded, the case engaging frame 60 is retracted
upwardly and the case is released on its transport conveyor
67. The conveyor 67 is a surface conveyor mounted inside
the floor surface 100 and such are well known in the art.
Accordingly, cases are fed along this transport conveyor to
the case loading machine of the present invention where they
are filled and then conveyed away to another station for
loading into transport vehicles.
As shown in Figure 4, as the cases are conveyed to
the machine 10 of the present invention, the cases 11 are
arrested by arresting arms 68 to hold the case at a feed
position 80 adjacent the loading station 81, see Figure 5.
A pair of clamps 69 assures the exact positioning of the
case 11 to permit the case engaging frame 60 to be moved
thereover and lowered inside the case, as shown in Figure 2
by arrow 83. The clamps 69 engage the opposed side walls
11' of the case 11 and release the case once the case
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 9 -
engaging frame 60 is in an engaged position. This is
controlled by the controller circuit 16. The piston
actuated arresting arms 68 are then withdrawn and
repositioned to receive the next case at the feed position.
The piston 70 of the indexing frame is then actuated by the
controller 16 to position the first compartment 52 at the
loading position, see Figure 4. After the photocell 54
detects that a filled bag has been loaded, the piston 70 is
then actuated to move the case and position the second
compartment 52' to the bag receiving position 53. The third
compartment 52" is then displaced at the bag receiving
position once the photocell 54 detects the loading of a
filled bag in the second compartment.
Briefly summarizing the operation of the machine
of the present invention, it consists of essentially
positioning the case engaging and displacement mechanism 60
in the open top end of a case whereby to segment the case in
compartments. The case engaging and displacement mechanism
60 is then displaced by the indexing frame assembly 64 to
position the compartments, in sequence, at the bag receiving
position 53. The filled bag 21" at the bag filling station
22 which is filled with small pouches of milk or other
liquid, is then displaced by the transfer clamp assembly 37
axially on guide rods or rails 43 and brought between the
clamping plate assembly 45 where the filled bag 21", with
the unstable liquid pouches therein, is squeezed or
compressed to pre-size it and the side transfer clamp
assembly 37 is disengaged and returned to the bag filling
station to engage another bag. Once positioned over the
aligned compartment at the loading position 53, the plate 48
is retracted and the filled bag 21" falls within the
compartment 52 between the division plates 62 and the side
walls 11' of the case 11 or between two division plates 62
depending on the location of the compartment 52. All the
compartments 52 are filled in sequence and the case is
displaced by the case engaging frame 60 which is secured to
the indexing frame. This is done by controlling the piston
CA 02291563 2006-04-03
- 10 -
70 of the indexing frame and detecting the loading of filled
bags within the compartments. After the case is filled, the
retracting frame 65 is moved upwardly by actuating piston 66
to release the filled case 11 which is conveyed away on its
transport conveyor 67.
As previously described, the method also comprises
conveying spaced apart batches of liquid pouches 12 to the
control chute 24 for directing the pouches into the open top
end 25 of the filled bag 21" held open under the chute. The
trap wall 26 of the chute is closed after a batch 18 of
pouches 12 have been directed into the open top end of the
filled bag 21" whereby to accumulate the pouches 12 of the
next batches 18 until the filled bag 21" has been removed
from under the chute 24 and a new bag has been engaged in an
open position to receive the following batch of pouches.
The pouches are released on the conveyor 14,
counted and an accumulation of leading ones of the pouches
of a next batch is made prior to being released on the
inclined conveyor 19, whereby the batches 18 are separated
from one another. The two Thimonier machines 13
automatically form, fill and seal the milk pouches 12 or
pouches containing any beverage or other liquid and these
are released on the conveyor 14.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to
cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment
described herein, provided such modifications fall within
the scope of the appended claims.
