Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD~AND APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING AN ARTICLE IN A POUCH
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for
positioning an article near the center of a pouch containing granules such
that the
orientation and position of the article within the pouch will reduce the risk
of the
pouch being torn or punctured by rough edges of the article.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Gravity-feed product delivery systems, commonly known as form-fill-
seal systems, are used to pack coffee granules, laundry granules, and other
free-
flowing articles. Often these systems use a single chute in which the granules
are
fed from a hopper, through the single chute, and into a pouch. Some of these
systems form the pouch around the chute from a roll of plastic film. The
formed
plastic pouch is filled with granules and then sealed. Other delivery systems
use
multiple, adjacent chutes to increase packing rate by delivering the articles
from
a specific chute while filling the other chutes in preparation for subsequent
delivery. Other delivery systems place the main granule chute and flavor
additive
tubes inside a larger, outer chute to deliver the granules and the additives
into a
single pouch. This type of delivery system has an additional outer chute which
increases construction cost and increases the amount of surface area needing
to
be cleaned and maintained. Other deliver systems utilize two coaxial tubes for
delivering and later mixing of milk and air.
Also commonly known in the art is the meths of delivering a scoop
into a package adapted to contain both granules and a scoop. This method
begins by placing the scoop into the bottom of the inverted package and then
filling the package with the granules. Another known. method of delivering a
scoop into a package is accomplished by first filling the package with the
granules and then placing the scoop on the top of the granules. Both of these
methods for delivering a scoop result in the placement of the scoop against an
interior wall of the package. When the scoop is placed against the interior
wall
of the formed plastic pouch, the pouch has a greater risk of being torn or
punctured by the scoop. Simply half way filling the pouch with the granules,
placing the scoop inside the pouch, and then filling over the scoop does not
reliably ensure proper placement of the scoop near the vertical and horizontal
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center of the pouch, which is desirable to reduce - the risk of tearing and
puncturing the pouch. In addition, this sequential method of delivery of
granules
and scoop decreases the rate of packing.
What has been missing is an apparatus and method for positioning and
orienting an article near the center of a pouch ~ containing granules which
positions the article near the center and away fram the interior walls of the
pouch
to reduce the risk of tearing and puncturing the pouch.
SUMMARY OF THE INVEl~T~ON
In one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus and method for
positioning and orienting an article near the center of a pouch containing
granules, comprises a granules chute, article guide assembly, and a gate
mechanism. The granules chute is substantially upright. A baffle plate is
placed
inside of the granules chute to provide a vent for air to escape from the
pouch
during the filling of granules. The article guide assembly is substantially
upright
and located inside of the granules chute, and it is substantially coaxial with
the
granules chute. The article guide assembly has a bottom end and a top end, and
it forms a chute for an article. The top end of the article guide assembly is
adapted to receive the article. The bottom end of the article guide assembly
is
adapted to deliver the article into the pouch. The article guide assembly has
slotted openings to allow granules to enter the article guide assembly and
surround the article prior to the exiting of the article from the article
guide
assembly. Surrounding the article with granules stabilizes the orientation and
position of the article within the pouch to reduce the risk of the pouch being
torn
or punctured by rough edges of the article. The gate m~hanism controls the
release of the article using a pre-determined time sequence in relation to
delivery
of the granules to the granules chute such that the article is positioned
vertically
near the center of the pouch as granules fill around the article.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point
out and distinctly claim the present invention, it is believed that the
present
invention will be better understood from the following description of
preferred
embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompamring drawings, in which
like reference numerals identify identical elements and wherein:
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FIG. 1 is a cross-sectioned schematic view of a preferred embodiment
of the present invemion, showing an article guide assembly inside a granules
chute, wherein one step of the process is shown with the scoop being held by a
gate and granules being initially discharged into the granules chute;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectioned schematic view thereof, wherein another
step of the process is shown with the scoop being released by the gate
m~hanism, additional granules being discharged, and pouch air being displacxd
through a vent;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectioned schematic view thereof, wherein still
another step of the process is shown with the scoop coming to rest on top of
the
granules while still inside the article guide assembly, additional granules
being
discharged, and additional air being displaced through the vent;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectioned schematic view thereof, wherein yet
another step of the process is shown with the scoop exiting the guide assembly
while surrounded by granules, additional granules being discharged, and
additional air being displaced through the vent; and
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectioned schematic view thereof, showing an article
guide assembly inside a granules chute, similar to FIG. 1, wherein the scoop
is
positioned inside the center of the formed pouch and oriented with the handle
of
the scoop aligned along the long axis of the pouch after the pouch is sealed
and
later separated from the web of flexible material.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE IN .NTI "~
Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a preferred
embodiment of the present invention, which provides an apparatus and method
for positioning and orienting an article near the center of a pouch containing
granules. The apparatus is generally indicated as 10. The primary object of
this
invention provides a reduction in the risk of pouch 16 being torn or punctured
by
rough edges of article 14 by orienting and positioning article 14 near the
center
of pouch 16. Another object of this invention provides proper positioning of
article 14 near the center of pouch 16 away from interior walls of pouch 16 .
and
proper orientation of article 14 with its longest axis parallel to a longest
axis of
pouch 16 by guiding article 14 during its fall into pouch 16. Still another
object
of this invention provides stabilization of the orientation and position of
article
14 within pouch 16 by surrounding article 14 with ganules 18 while article 14
is
still being guided.
Apparatus 10 comprises a granules chute 20, an article'guide assembly
30, and a gate mechanism 40 for controlling the release of article 14.
Granules
chute 20 is commonly known in the art as part of a typical form-fill-seal
machine.
Granules chute 20 is rectangular and positioned substantially upright with
openings at its top and bottom ends. In an alternative design, Granules chute
20
is cylindrical or any other known workable shape for form-811-seal machines.
The opening at the top of granules chute 20 is divided into two portions by
bale
plate 42. One portion is an entrance opening for filling ganules 18 into
ganules
chute 20. The other portion is a vent for displaced air 46. Displaced air 46
results from the filling of ganules 18 in pouch 16. Granules 18 are fed from a
hopper (not shown) into the entrance opening at the top end of ganules chute
20. Article guide assembly 30 is substantially upright and located inside of
granules chute 20. Article guide assembly 30 is substantially coaxial with
granules chute 20. Article guide assembly 30 has a bottom end and a top end.
Article guide assembly 30 forms a chute for dropping of article 14. The top
end
of article guide assembly 30 is adapted to receive article 14. The bottom end
of
article guide assembly 30 is adapted to deliver article 14 into pouch 16.
Prior to the feeding of granules 18 into granules chute 20, pouch 16
must be formed around the perimeter and bottom end of granules chute 20 from
a web of flexible material such as a plastic film 48 supplied by a roll (not
shown).
The web of flexible material may also be paper and or a laminate or composite
of
paper and plastic film. The forming of plastic film 48 is performed by the use
of
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folding board 49. The process of forming plastic film 48 around granules chute
20 is commonly known in the art. Once plastic film 48 is formed around the
bottom end of granules chute 20, plastic film 48 is sealed by using sealers 50
resulting in the formation of a bottom end of pouch 16. Various types of
sealers
50 may be used, such as hot bar sealers and ultrasonic sealers.
Prior to feeding granules 18 into granules chute 20, article 14 must be
staged into the top end of article guide assembly 30. The staging of article
14 is
performed by first closing gate mechanism 40 so that it obstructs the falling
of
article 14 within article guide assembly 30. Next, article 14 is placed iMo
the top
opening of article guide assembly 30 by use of a conveyor system (not shown).
Article 14 falls inside of article guide assembly 30 until it reaches gate
mechanism 40 where it is then obstructed from further falling, as shown in
FIG.
1.
Granules 18 are then fed from a hopper (not shown) into the entrance
opening at the top end of granules chute 20. Granules 18 fall within granules
chute 20 towards pouch 16 once the bottom of pouch 16 has been sealed closed.
Some of the falling granules 18 enter slotted openings 52 which are formed in
article guide assembly 30. Slotted openings 52 allow granules 1.8 to enter
article
guide assembly 30 and later surround article 14 prior to the exiting of
article 14
from article guide assembly 30. Surrounding article 14 with granules 18
stabilizes the orientation and position of article 14 within pouch 16 which
will
reduce the risk of pouch 16 being torn or punctured by rough edges of article
14.
At a pre-determined time, gate mechanism 40 is opened to allow article 14 to
fall
within article ,guide assembly 30. Article 14 comes to rest on top of the
resting
granules 18. By releasing article 14 at a pre-determined time, article 14 is
positioned vertically near the center of the pouch as granules 18 fill around
the
article, as shown in FIG. 2.
Additional granules 18 are fed into the top end of granules chute 20
and surround article 14. Gate mechanism 40 is returned to a closed position in
order to obstruct the next article Sb to be staged for the next pouch, as
shown in
FIG. 3.
As the remaining amount of granules 18 surround article 14, article 14
exits the article guide assembly 30 where it becomes stabilized by the
surrounding granules 18 near the cxMer of pouch 16. The weight of granules 18
and article 14 causes pouch 16 to fall away from granules chute 20 and article
guide assembly 30, as shown in FIG. 4.
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Unce the top end of pouch 16 falls below sealers 50, sealers 50 seal
the top end of pouch 16. The resulting package 54 contains granules 18 with
article 14 positioned near the center of pouch 16. Article 14 is oriented with
its
longest axis substantially parallel to a longest axis of pouch 16 in order to
reduce
the risk of pouch 16 being torn or punctured by rough edges of article 14.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, article 14 is a plastic scoop
and granules 18 are laundry granules. The scoop has a handle and a cup
portion.
The cup portion is about 5.5 centimeters deep, the scoop is about 11.7
centimeters tall including its handle and about 6.2 centimeters wide. The
edges
of the scoop are sharp enough to cause punctures in pouch 16 when in contact
therewith. The laundry granules' particle size ranges from about 5 microns to
about 500 microns. The plastic film of pouch 16 is preferably made from a
linear
low density/high density polyethylene laminate and its thickness is about 4.25
mil
to 5.50 mil. Preferably, the resulting package holds either 4 liters, 8
liters, or 12
liters of laundry granules. The 4 liter package is about 14.5 centimeters
tall, 18.5
centimeters wide, and 14.5 centimeters deep The 8 liter package is about 19.0
centimeters tall, 15.3 centimeters wide, and 15.2 centimeters deep. The 12
liter
package is about 34.0 centimeters tall, 21.5 centimeters wide, and 14.5
centimeters deep.
The preferred material of construction for granules chute 20 and
article guide assembly 30 is stainless steel. Granules chute 20 is about 100
centimeters tall, 12 centimeters wide, and 18 centimeters deep. Article guide
assembly 30 is about 70.5 centimeters tall, 9.0 centimeters wide, and 6.5
centimeters deep. The length and width of article guide assembly 30 is
important
because they define a chute of a particular size that properly surrounds and
guides the scoop during its fall thereby establishing its position and
orientation in
pouch 16. The bottom of article guide assembly 30 is about 4.2 centimeters
above the bottom of granules chute 20. This dimension determines the point at
which the scoop is no longer held by article guide assembly 30 and requires
that
the scoop be securely surrounded by granules in order to maintain its
orientation
and position. Slotted openings 52 are about 36.8 centimeters -tall, 2.5
centimeters wide, and are located about 3.2 centimeters from the bottom of
article guide assembly 30. These dimensions determine the amount of ganules
18 that can enter article guide assembly 30 in order to sufficiently surround
and
stabilize the scoop. In an alternative design, article guide. assembly 30 is
conk from stainless steel rods rather than walls with slotted openings 52.
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Gate mechanism 40 is located about 28.7 centimeters from the bottom of article
guide assembly 30. The pre-determined time from the release of granules 18 imo
granules chute 20 to the dropping of the scoop from gate mechanism 40 is 0.15
second for the 4 liter package. The pre-determined time from the release of
granules 18 into granules chute 20 to the dropping of the scoop from gate
mechanism 40 is 0.45 second for the 8 liter package. The pre-determined time
from the release of ganules I8 into granules chute 20 to the dropping of the
scoop from gate mechanism 40 is 0.85 second for the 12 liter resulting
package.
The height of gate mechanism 40 in conjunction with the pre-determined release
time is critical because it determines the vertical position of the scoop
within
pouch 16.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been
illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that
various
changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all
such
modifications that are within the scope of the invention.
