Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Attorney Docket No. 1776/48343/35
In The United States Patent and Trademark Office
Method and System for Bagging Material
Inventor: Eggo Haschke, citizen of DE, resident of US
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATION APPLICATION
This application claims priority from United States Provisional Patent
Application No.
61/228,077, filed July 23, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is generally directed to a system for encasing materials, such
as poultry or
other materials, in plastic bags. The invention is used for packaging poultry
such as whole
dressed chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys, but can be used as well for
poultry parts, such as
turkey breasts, for whole-muscle meats, such as hams, for other food items
such as game,
cheeses, and sausages, and for non-food items as well.
One prior-art method to encase chickens and turkeys is to place one manually
in a plastic
bag and apply a clip or other sealing means to the neck of the bag. This
method requires little
capital investment. The bag must be large enough for the bird to fit easily
into the bag, however,
which results in a loose appearance of the bag around the bird. This
appearance is unsatisfactory
to some consumers, and also requires larger bags at increased costs.
One solution in the prior art was to evacuate the bag before sealing it, for
both
marketability reasons and health reasons. In general, a whole dressed bird is
placed in a plastic
bag, the bag is closed by gathering the mouth of the bag into a neck around a
nozzle, the neck of
the bag is held around the nozzle by the jaws of a clipping apparatus, a
vacuum is drawn on the
nozzle to remove excess air from the bag, causing the bag to collapse around
the bird, and a clip
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is applied to the neck of the bag to seal the bag.
The process as described above has been automated, for example by the
apparatus
described in United States Patent No. 3,795,095, Device for the Evacuation,
Clipping, and
Trimming of Bag-Like Packages, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein
by reference. An
apparatus of this type generally comprises a rotating circular table, a
plurality of radially-oriented
evacuation nozzles, and a clamping means at each nozzle. A bagged product,
such as a dressed
turkey in a plastic bag, is applied to each of the vacuum nozzles at a first
position. As each
vacuum nozzle travels circularly, the clamping means closes to seal the bag to
the nozzle, the
vacuum nozzle evacuates the bag, a clip is applied, the excess bag or "tail"
is removed, the
clamping means opens, and the now packaged turkey is removed from the table.
In some
applications, the entire package is then sent to a netting machine for
enclosure in netting.
The plastic bag can be shrunk even further by use of shrinkable plastic for
the bag. The
package is sent to a shrink tunnel and exposed to heat by steam or hot water.
The plastic, when
exposed to heat, shrinks even further around the bird. The plastic used in
shrinkable bags is a
non-breathing type of plastic, so these types of bags can be used for fresh
birds as well as for
frozen birds.
This process requires a lot of energy and water to shrink the plastic. A need
exists for a
method of bagging poultry to produce a tightly-encased bird within plastic,
but avoiding the
trouble and expense of the prior art. The present invention meets this need.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a method and an apparatus for enclosing material in a bag,
for a bag
comprising a stretchable material and having a first dimension and a second
dimension. The
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method comprises stretching the bag in the first dimension, placing material
in the bag, releasing
the bag in the first dimension, stretching the bag in a second dimension,
evacuating the bag, and
sealing the bag. The apparatus comprises a bagger configured to stretch the
bag in a first
dimension, to receive the material, and to release the bag in the first
dimension, and a packaging
apparatus comprising a nozzle coupled to a vacuum system, a grasping means, a
clipper means,
and an iris, the grasping means configured to hold a neck of the bag to the
nozzle, the iris
configured to push the material in the bag away from the grasping means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the invention,
together
with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by
reference to the
following description, taken in connection with the accompanying non-scale
drawings, wherein
like reference numerals identify like elements in which:
FIGS. IA through IC are elevation views of a whole dressed bird encased in a
plastic
bag, as is produced by the method and apparatus of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrammatic views of a plastic bag as used in the
preferred
embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a top diagrammatic view of the apparatus of the preferred embodiment
of the
present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side diagrammatic view of the apparatus of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a whole dressed bird at a step of the preferred
embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the bird of FIG. 5 after the next step of the
preferred embodiment
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of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the bird of FIG. 5 after yet another step of the
preferred
embodiment of the present invention of the preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 8 is a side view of the bird of FIG. 5 after yet another step of the
preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a side view of the bird of FIG. 5 after yet another step of the
preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While the invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there
is shown
in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, specific embodiments
with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an
exemplification of the principles
of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that as
illustrated and described
herein.
Representative packaged assemblies 20 of a whole dressed bird 22 encased in a
plastic
bag 24 and sealed therein by a clip 26 applied to neck 28 of bag 24 are shown
in FIGS. 1A, 1B,
and 1C. Please note that in some applications, neck 28 of the bag 24 is
gathered above the
packaged item 20 and the clip 26 is applied above the packaged item 20, as
shown in FIG. 1A.
Some consumers find this appearance objectionable for some types of food
items. Those food
items would present a more pleasing appearance if clip 26 were not visible
from the front of
packaged assembly 20, as shown in, for example, FIG. I B. In this situation,
neck 28 is gathered
on a side of the enclosed material and clip 26 is applied as shown in FIG. 1C.
For other food
items, the appearance as shown in FIG. 1 is satisfactory. The present
invention can be used to
package material in either configuration.
The present invention will be described in an embodiment relating to bagging
whole
dressed turkeys. The invention is not limited to this particular application,
however.
The present invention uses stretchable material for plastic bags 24. In the
preferred
embodiment, bag 24 is made of polyethylene to which a memory agent has been
added. This
material will stretch when a force is applied (up to a limit) and will relax
back to, or at least very
close to, the original size when the force is removed. This material allows
the use of printed
bags, which is important in marketing consumer goods. The information printed
on the bags,
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such as brand names and logos, distorts upon stretching but reverts to its
original appearance
when the plastic material relaxes back to its original size. The use of
polyethylene film with
three to ten percent ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) has been found to provide
satisfactory memory
and minimal distortion of printed matter. Other plastics and other memory
agents are used as
well.
Bag 24 as used in the present invention is conventionally made of a top sheet
24a folded
over a bottom sheet 24b, with the sides welded together by ultrasound or heat
to form bag 24.
Sometimes, the lower comers are trimmed to provide a tapered bag. Bag
manufacturers
generally provide a series of bags 24 stacked flat.
Bag 24 is when flat is generally rectangular and has a first dimension or
height h and a
second dimension or width w, as shown in FIG. 2A. Bag 24 when opened has a
first dimension
or height h and a second dimension or diameter d, as shown in FIG. 2B.
Bag 24 is stretched open in the w dimension preferably using a bagger, a
turkey 22 is
pushed into bag 24, and bag 24 is released, causing bag 24 to revert from its
stretched position to
a relaxed position over turkey 22. A bagger and methods of bagging are
described in, for
example, United States Patent No. 6,895,726, Poly-stretch Bagger System, the
disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference.
To further stretch bag 24 over turkey 22, an evacuation process is used before
bag 24 is
sealed. In the preferred embodiment, bag 24, encasing turkey 22, is placed on
packaging
apparatus 40. Packaging apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is preferably a
rotatable
framework 42 with multiple stations for evacuating bags 24. In this
embodiment, framework 42
is connected, preferably by a gear assembly 48, to a motor 50. In other
embodiments, motor 50
drives framework 42 in a rotating motion by belts, shafts, cranks, cams, or
other means.
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A central vacuum pump 52 is connected by suitable piping 54 to a plurality of
vacuum
nozzles 56. In the illustrated embodiment, there are eight vacuum nozzles 56,
but in other
embodiments, other numbers of vacuum nozzles can be used. For example,
apparatus 40 could
comprise a single nozzle without a rotating framework. The tip 58 of each
vacuum nozzle 56
extends through a grasping means 60. In the preferred embodiment, grasping
means 60 is a pair
of jaws configured to clamp neck 28 onto nozzle 56. Grasping means 60 in the
preferred
embodiment has jaws actuated by one or more air-actuated cylinders (not shown)
connected to a
compressed air supply. In other embodiments, the jaws of grasping means 60 are
actuated
electronically or electromechanically. In yet other embodiments, the jaws of
grasping means 60
are actuated manually. In other embodiments, other grasping means 60 are used,
such as wire or
band sealers, tapers, and tying devices.
Grasping means 60 is movable from a position adjacent bagged turkey 20, as
shown in
FIG. 5, to a position remote from bagged turkey 20, as shown in FIG. 8. Each
grasping means
60 preferably travels by means of an air-actuated cylinder (not shown)
connected to a
compressed air supply. In other embodiments, grasping means 60 travels by
electronic or
electromechanical means. In other embodiments, grasping means is moved from
one position to
the other manually.
Located just past tip 58 is clipping means 64. Clipping means 64 is preferably
a
conventional clipping apparatus, including gathering jaws, a clip rail, a
punch, and a die, and is
actuated by one or more air-actuated cylinders connected to a compressed air
supply to apply a
conventional clip. In yet other embodiments, other automated devices that
apply conventional
clips, wires, bands, sealing tape, twist ties, cables, or other sealing means
are used. In yet other
embodiments, clipper means 64 is operated manually.
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In the preferred embodiment, a central controller 62 is coupled to each of
pump 52,
grasping means 60, and clipper means 64. Controller 62 is preferably an
electronic control, such
as a standard Siemens central processing unit, with a "power 5 6EP1333-1 SLI1"
power supply, a
"Simatic S7-300 314-IAEO4-OABO" PLC, a 32-output "SM322 321-IBLOO-OAAO" card,
a 32-
input "SM 321 321-ABLOO-OAAO" card, and a 16-input "SM 321 321-IBHOS-OAAO"
card. In
other embodiments, other PLC-based electronic controls are used. In other
embodiments,
controller 62 is an analog controller. In yet other embodiments, apparatus 40
is controlled
manually.
In operation, after material such as a turkey has been bagged in the manner
described in,
preferably, United States Patent No. 6,895,726, Poly-Stretch Bagger System,
the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein, neck 28 of bag 24 is placed over nozzle 56, as
shown in FIG. 5.
The gathering jaws of grasping means 60 close over neck 28 and hold the
plastic material of
neck 28 tightly to nozzle 56, as shown in FIG. 6. Then, or at the same time,
the gathering jaws
of clipper means 64 wrap around neck 28, distal to nozzle 56, and vacuum pump
52 evacuates
any excess air out of bag 24, causing bag 24 to collapse even more tightly
about turkey 22, as
shown in FIG. 7.
Grasping means 60 next moves to its second position, remote from bagged turkey
20, as
shown in FIG. 8. Since grasping means 60 is holding neck 28 tightly to nozzle
56, but the plastic
of neck 28 can still slide along nozzle 56, bag 24 is pulled even more tightly
about turkey 20 as
neck 20 is pulled by grasping means 60 away from turkey 20.
Clipping means 64 then applies a clip 26 to bag 24, and severs neck 28,
sealing turkey 22
within bag 24 to form packaged assembly 20, as shown in FIG. 9. Please note
that apparatus 40
can place clip 26 above turkey 22, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 9, or next to
turkey 22, as shown in
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FIG. 1 C, in the manner described in United States Published Patent
Application No.
2009/0044488 Al, Dual Mode Bagger, filed August 15, 2008, the disclosure of
which is
incorporated herein by reference.
In the preferred embodiment, the tail of bag 24, the excess plastic distal to
clip 26, is
trimmed using a trimmer. Package 20 is then weighed on a scale and,
preferably, a tag is printed
with the weight and other information, such as date, lot number, and factory
identification,
preferably on a laser printer. The tag is applied to package 20 and, in some
applications, package
20 is also enclosed in a net, preferably by a netter such as is described in
United States Patent
No. 6,883,297, Apparatus for Enclosing Material in a Net, the disclosure of
which is
incorporated herein. Package 20 is then frozen in a freezer for shipment to
distributors and
consumers.
The method of the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises the
following steps,
not necessarily in this exact order:
Step 101. Enlarge stretchable bag 24 radially to increase its diameter by
stretching;
Step 102. Place turkey 22 inside stretchable bag 24;
Step 103. Release stretchable bag 24 to decrease its diameter; bag 24
collapses about
turkey 22;
Step 104. Grasp neck 28 of stretchable bag 24;
Step 105. Evacuate air from inside of stretchable bag 24;
Step 106. Pull neck 28 of stretchable bag 24 away from turkey 22;
Step 107. Apply clip 26 to neck 28;
Step 108. Sever neck 28 above clip 26;
Step 109. Trim tail of bag 24;
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Step 110. Weigh package 20;
Step 111. Net package 20;
Step 112. Apply tag to package 20;
Step 113. Freeze package 20.
Not all of these steps need be taken. For example, the weighing, netting,
trimming, and
tagging steps are optional depending on the application, For other examples,
Steps 105 and 106
can be reversed in order or can be done at the same time.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown and described,
it is
envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications of
the present invention
without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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