Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
105~583
1 Background n~ the Invention
Bag filling machines have been used for many years
I to avoid the high labor costs in bagging flowable material.
In the bag~ing of powdery material such as flour, the first
bags used were burlap or cotton bags. These were-permeable
to air and hence as the bags were filled air could escape
through the pores and of course some of the flour also escaped
throu'gh the pores. A standard method of filling powdery
material into such bags was by the method of filling from the
bottom up. A long spout was used and the bag was raised over
the entire length of the spout 50 that the bottom of the spout
was near the bottom of the bag. Then as the bag was filled,
the bag was lowered more or less in unison with the filling
theoretically to fill the bag from the bottom up without much
aeration of the powdery materiaI during filling.~ The industry
more recently has gone away from cloth bags to paper kraft
bags which are less permeable to air passage but s~till somewhat ~-
; permeable. ~Even more recently b~arrier bags have been used~and
ihese are the~type~with a~plastic liner within the kraft paper~
~'~ 20~ outer bag. Such'~plastic liner does~not let the air escape
~,~; ; during filling so that it has been difficult to fill bags with
powdery material such as powdered milk. Another problem is
that with powdered milk or flour, strict sanitary precautions
must be observed, With~many;~prlor bag filling machines`using
a barrier bag, after the plastic liner was filled on the machine,
- a man'had to separately twist together the top of the plastic
bag, put a twist tie on it and then~tuck;this fastenea top of
' the plastic liner down inside the kraft bag. The man's hands
would touch th~e inside~of the bag and~therefore thls was not
particularly sanitary. Also it took about four or five men to
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` ` 10$8583
1 operate such a bag machine, yet only about two to four 50-pound
bags could be filled per minute. One reason for the slow
filling procedure was because the 50-pouna slug of powdered
material would drop through the air and become aerated, and
it took time for the air to escape. A certain amount of time
had to elapse after the bag was filled to allow the powdered
material to settle before the bag could be closed. ~his
- limited the productivity of the men and machine.
In some cases with the old machines a su~ficient
voIume of air became entrained in the powdery material so that
the bag did not have sufficient capacity to initially contain
the 50-pound slug of material and the bag would overflow.
Another problem with the prior art bag machine filling
systems was that in many cases a 50 thousand pound storage ~in
was filled so full that the powaery material could not be
de-aerated until the level of the powdery material in the bin
had dropped to perhaps one quarter full. This is because there
was so much weight of material on the material at the bottom
that the air ~ould not escape. As a result the material
augered from the bottom of this large bin into the funnel shaped
bag filling station in the machine woul~ definitely be aerated
and hence was aerated as it went into the bags. This aeration
was further caused by the dropping from the auger into the
funnel which would re-aerate the powdery material even if it
- was de-aerated at the large storage bin.
Accordingly the problem to be solved is how to
increase the productivity of a bag machine and how to prevent
as much aeration as possible and also to de-aerate thé powdery
material before and auring the time that it goes into the
bags.
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~05~5~33
1 Summary of the Invention
The invention may be incorporated in a ~ag filling
machine for filling bags having mouths comprising, in
combination, a base, a bag filling station on said base, a
fill spout at said filling station and located to penetrate the
mouth of a bag, powered supply means at said filling station
in closed communication with said fill spout to drive
powdery material through said~fill spout and into any said
bag, means at said filling station to restrain ready opening
of the sides of a bag, and means to control said powered
supply means to drive material through said spout and into any
said restrained bag to drive the powdery material from the top
down into any said bag to gradually force the bag open from
the top down against the urging of said restraining means so
that the powdery material has a minimum of aeration~
: An object of the invention is to provide a bag
; filling machine with a capability of filling a large number of
bags per man hour.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bag
20 filling machine wherein the powdery material is adequately
de-aerated before it moves to a bag filling station and is
kept in this de-aerated condition.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bag
filling machine wherein powdery material is filled into a bag
from the top down forcing the bag open to eliminate aerating
the powdery material.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bag
filling machine wherein a bag is accurately filled to a
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iO5~S83
t predetermine~ weight by a scale connected to grippers suppor~ing
the top of the bag.
Other objects and a fuller understanding of the
invention ~ay be had by referring to the following aescription
and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a machine
` incorporating the invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the machine of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4-4 of
FIG. l;
FIG. 5 is a perspectlve view showing the front of
the machine; and
FIG. 6 is a closer perspective view of the front
of the machine.
,
,~ : : .
Descrip-tlon of the Preferred Em ~ dimen*
m e figures of the drawing show a bag filling machine
11 incorporating the invention. This machine h~as a frame 12 on
which are mounted generally an alignment station 13, a first
bulk filling station 14, a second dribble ~illing station 15,
and a sealing and closing~station 16. A magazine 17 is
connectea to supply bags sequentially to the machine 11. A
bulk storage bin 18 may be on the frame 12 or separate therefrom
and is connected to supply powdery material to a primary
conditioning station l9 which in turn supplies a secondary
con~itioning station 20 which supplies the powdery material to
the first and second filling stations 14 and 15.
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1 Bags are supplied sequentially from the magazine 17
to the alignme~t station 13 whereat the top edge of each bag is
aligned at a reference line 26. Each bag is then moved laterally
along the ~ertical plane of each bag to the bulk filling station
14 whereat the bag receives a major portion of its capacity of
,,
powdery material. It then is again shifted laterally to ~he
dribble filling station 15 whereat it receives a minor portion
of-its capacity to fill the bag to a predetermined calibrated
weight as determined by a weight scale operated from the hands
or grippers supporting the bag at this dribble filling station
^; 10 15. The bag next moves to the sealing and closing station 16
to seal and close the bag.
The magazine 17 is adapted to receive the bags
standing vertically on their bottom edges with the openable
end at the top. A removal machanism 23 having vacuum cups
-24 moves against the end most bag 25 in the magazine 17 and
r , , pulls it from the end of the magazine to the vertical plane of
the alignment station 13. The removal mechanlsm 23~then moves
the bag upwardly to the horizontal reference line 26 to
`~ orient the top openable edge of the bag at this reference line
26. Before said vacuum cups release the bag, the bag is
clamped by clamps 27 in the aligned position at reference line
26.
Front and rear movable frames 28 and 29 are shown in
FIG. 3 with the front movable frame 28 shown in more detail in
FIGS. 5 and 6. These frames are similar and only the front
frame 28 will be described. This front frame is supporte2 on
four arms 30 which are keyed to a shaft 31 pivoted on the frame
12. The movable frame 28 is mounted on the lower end of these
arms 30 and carries movable sprockets and a chain or, as shown,
pulleys 32 and a V-belt 33. One or more motors 34, such as
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l expansible ~luid motors are connected to the arms 30 to swing
the movable fr~me 28 between the closea position of FIG. 3
and 6 and an open position as shown in FIG. 5. In the closed
position t~e inboard runs of the V-belts 33 of the front and
rear frames will engage the front and rear faces of the bags
25 near the top openable end thereof and maintain alignment
of the top of the bag at reference line 26. When the belts
of the movable frames 28 and 29 are closed on the bags, as
shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, then the cIamps 27 are released. A
; lO motor 35 acts through a clutch 36 shafts and universal joints
to drive the two belts 33 in synchronism so that when the inner
runs of the belts are closed on the bag 25, the bag will be
moved from the alignment station 13 to the first filling
station 14.
me powdery material may be contained in a bulk
storage bin 18 which for example may be quite large, 50,000
pol~ds as an example. The primary conditioning st~tion l9
includes a container 39 which may he immedlately below bu1k
storage bin 18 with an:openable valve therebetween which will
separate the weight of the material in the bin 18 from the weight
of the material in the container l9~ Alternatively, as shown,
a delivery screw 40 may be connected to deliver the powdery
material from the bin 18 to the container 39. The lever of
material in container 39 is regulated by a level control 38.
A second delivery screw 42 is connected to deliver the powdery
material from the bottom of the primary conditioning container
39 to the bottom of a secondary conditioning container 43 at
the secondary conditioning station 20.. This forces the powdery
material upwardly into container 43 until a level control 44
is actuated to deactivate the drive 45 of the deli~ery screw 42.
` ` `~` ~058$83
1 The lower end of the container 43 is connected by conduits 46
and 47, respectively, to first and second bag fiIling hoppers
48 and 49 at the first and second filling stations 14 and 15,
respectively. Both of these hoppers 48 and 49 are funnel
shaped with clam shell valves 64 and 65 on the respective
lower ends of these hoppers~at the discharge outlets, and
; outer clam shell spouts 50 and 51 surrounding the valves 64
and 65, respectively. Augers 52 and 53 are provided in the
hoppers 48 and 49, respectively, and driven by auger motors 54
and 55, respectively. Agitators 56 and~57 are disposed in the
hoppers 48 and 49, respectively, and are in the form of stirring
rods aisposed closely adjacent the conical inside surface of the
hoppers. These agitators are driven by agitator motors 58 and
59, respeatively. The filling of the container 43 up the level
- control 44 means that the conduits 46 and 47 and hoppers 48 and
49 are all full completely to the covers 60 and 61 on the
hoppers 48 and 49, respectively. A vacuum line 62~may optionally
be connected to the upper portion of the container 39 and 43
through a vacuum break 63 so as to maintain a partial vacuum
at the upper volume of these containers 39 and 43. A vacuum
probe 66 may be raised and lowered by a motor 68 to extend
downwardly through the hollow stem of the augér 52 and into any
bag 25 being filled at the first bag~fllling st;ation 14.
Gripper means are provided to support the bags 25
from a position near the top of the bag. These may be one set
of grippers but as shown are two~sets of grippers, one set at
each of the filling stations. Grippers f2 may be closed by a
motor 73 and are supported~on anms 74 which have an elbow pivot
75 for horizontal movement and a shoulder pivot 76 for vertical
3C movement with the shoulder pivot 76 being supported on the frame
12. An air cylinder motor 77 extends horizontally bétween the
arms 74 to move the grippers horizontally toward and away from
lOS8583
1 each other. A cylinder motor 78 reacts against the frame 12
to raise and lower ~he arms 74 and hence raise and lower the
grippers 72.
The grippers at the second filling station 15-have an
arrangement similar to that at the first filling station 14
but include a scale 81. FIG. 4 shows the gripper arrangement
for the second filling station 15 as including grippers 82
which may be opened and closed by a motor 83 ana are carried
on arms 84 which have an elbow pivot 85 for horizontal
movement of the forearm and are supported on a shoulder pivot
86 for vertical movement of the arms 84 and grippers 82. A
motor such as an air cylinder motor 87 is connected between
the forearms to move these arms 84 toward and away from each
other. A motor such as an aix cylinder motor 88 is connected
to raise and lower the arms 84. The motor 88 reacts against
a movable frame 89 which is pivoted at 90 to a beam 91, pivoted
at 92 to the frame 12. A load cell may act as the scale 81
and connects the rear of the beam 91 to the fixed frame 12.
Thus as a bag 25, carried by the grippers 82, is filled with
powdery material, the beam 91 tends to tip counter clockwise
as viewed in FIG. 4 and this is resisted by the load cell 81
to weigh the bag and its contents.
At the first filling station 14, the outer clam shell
spout 50 has front and rear halves 94 and 95 which may be closed
to facilitate spouting of the bag and opened to open the bag
top and to allow material to flow into the bag 25. Bag sensors
96 pivoted relative to the front and rear clam shell halves 94
and 95 determine whether or not a bag has been positioned on
the spout 50 so that material will not be discharged with a
bag being absent or improperly spouted. The second filling
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1 station 15 has a similar arrangement with an outer front clam
shell ~8 and outer rear clam sh~ll 99 being also openable and
closeable to facilitate respouting of the bag, and front and
rear sensor's 100 are pivoted relative to the outer front and
rear clam shell halves to detect the presence or absence of
a bag or an improperly spouted bag.
A split belt conveyor 103 has belts 104 and 105
spaced slightly apart and this conveyor is positioned below
the first and second filling stations 14 and 15. The space
between the belts 104 and 105 is to permit the empty, flat
bag to move from the alignment station 13 to the first filling
statlon 14 with the bag in this space between the belts. Later
the bags may be lifted onto the spout 50 as shown in FIG. 5
; and then filled and after filling they will be lowered onto
both belts 104 and 105 to be supported thereby.
The sealing and clo~ing station 16 has a conveyor lOB
which is a single belt conveyor on the same level as the conveyor
belts 104, 105. All of these conveyors may be raised and
lowerea as shown in the phantom posltion of FIG. 3 in orde~r to
accommodate bags of di~ferent dimensions, for example bags of
from 25 to 110 pound capacity. The sealing and closing station
16 also has a supporting V-belt 109 at the front and a V-belt
110 at the rear riding on pulleys 111 and driven by a motor 35.
These V-belts provide support to hold the bag in a vertical
~ -position so it wiil not tip over and to mai~tain the top edge
of the bag at the reference line 26. The motor 35 arives all
bag transport means in syn~hronism so that bags are conveyed
- throughout at a constant rate.
The sealing and closing station has means to open the
top of the bags to expose inner heat-sealable material areas for
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" ~L058583
1 air-blast cleaning of such areas in preparation far heat-sealing
of bags. ~ wire 124 pushes back the lon,~er rear lip llS of bag
25 above the part of the bag held closea by belts 109, 110 and
a downstre~m air jet 125 and an upstream air je~ 126 blow on
the inside of the front lip and rear lip 115 to clean them of
any powdery residue. Ey this air-blast cleaning of the front
and rear lips of bags prior to sealing, ~he bag top is closed
securely. A1SQ the sealing and closing station has means to
heat-seal inner heat-sealable materials of such bags ~or
protection of bag contents from deleterious effects caused by
absorption of mo.isture, etc~ during storage.
The sealing and closing station 16 also has means 114
to fold over the longer rear lip 115 of the bag 25 which carries
a heat sensitive adhesive and which is then carried over a
- vented plenum chamber where controlled, heated air is imp.inged
on the adhesive to activate i't after which the folding of the
flap is completed by means which bring it in contact with the
adjacent.area of the bag to which it seals itself under influence
of c-ompressi~n belts ~17 which impress on ~he folded top securing
the folded flap. Control means 120 is provided including a
control panel mounted so as to be accessible to a machine
; attendant and which contains all controls neoessary for proper
functioning of the machine. The various control and limit
switches such as the bag sensors 96 and 100 are connected into
this control means and control the various motors in a se~uence
of operation.
0~
The bag filling machine 11 is usable with most any
solid particulate or flowable material and is particularly
advantageous with powde-ry material of the nature of foodstuffs
.. . . .. . _ . . . .. . , . ... .. .. _ . _ .. ... . .. .. _ _ . _ .. . .
~L058583
1 such as dried ~lk o~ ~l~u~ or ot~er powde~y ~a`terials ~uch as
ma~ be ~anufact~red ~y Various in~ustries. The powdery
material will be present in the bulk storage bin 18 and supplied
by the aeli~ery screw 40 to the primary conditioning station 19
equipped ~i-th level controls 3~, Containex 39 has sides
converging toward aelivery screw 42 which further conveys
material to hoppers 48 ana 49 and the secondary conditioning
station 20 which is thus filled from t`he bottom up and the
product level therein is controlled by level controls 44. It
can be seen that when the le~el of product in the secondary
conditioning station 20 reaches a preset maximum as determined
by level control 44, screw 42 will be stopped allowing screw 40
to fill the primary conditioning station 39 until stopped by
its level control 38. The entire system thus filled contains
sufficient product so as to allow time for air to be dissipated
from the powdery material even while material is being withdrawn
at the bulk and dribble auger stations during operation.
Dissipation of air is aided by the partial ~acuum established
by the vàcuum line 62 above bo-th condi*ioning containers.
Ihis is also aided by the agitators 56 and 57 to make certain
that no pockets of air might be trapped inside these hoppers
48 and 49. The amount of powdery material thus stored within
this conditioning system has a definite advantage. The
adYantage being that time is permitted in this conaitioning
system to substantially completely de-aerate the powdery
material.
The height of thenaterial in the conta~ner 39 to the
level set by the level control 38 is in the order of the height
of a bag being filled and is approximately one to two times the
height of such bag. It has been discoverea that material in a
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~LOS8583
1 bulk storage bin such as the bin 18 often may be stored in such
a large vertical dimension that the sheer weight and compaction
of the material prevents air from escaping from the powdery
material near the bottom. Thus when it was delivered as by a
mechanism such as a delivery screw 40, it still was in an
aerated condition. If it was supplied directly to bag filling
hoppers similar to hoppers 48 and 49 and then supplied into the
bags, these prior art machines o~ten aelivered aerated powdery
material. Thus the primary conditioning system gives time for
the air to escape from this powdery material by the temporary
storage in a relatively small quantity at a relatively small
vertical height of material. In the prior art machines with
the aerated powdery material delivered to the bags, time was
necessary for the material to settle in the bag and let the air
out of the material before the bag could be sealed and closed~
m is severely restricted the productivity of the prior art
bag machines. In severe cases it was often found that the
delivery of the material to the bags had to be slowed or left
uncompleted because the bag simply did not have enough capacity
to contain all the material, it might overflow before it had
reached the required weight~
Bags 25 are supplied by the magazine 17. The '
removal mechanism 23 pulls off one bag at a time from the rear
end of the magazlne 17 and moves it to the vertical plane
- beneath the horizontal reference line 26. The removal mechanism
23 then moves the bag upwardly until the top openable edge of
the bag is at this reference line 26. Provided the bag top is
level with respect to reference line 26 as determined by two
cooperating sensors, which must both engage the bag top, the bag
is then clamped in this attitude by clamps 27. At this time the
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~L058583
1 vacuum cups 24 may release ~heir hold on the bag. At this
time the control means 120 actuates the motors 34 to close
the V-belts on the bag ~5 in the position 25A at the alignment
station 13,tsee FIG. 6. The control means 120 then actuates
a clutch 36 to move the belts and advance the bag from the
alignment position 25A to a position 25B at'the first or
bulk filling station 14. In this advancing movement the
bottom of the bag moves into the space between the belts 104
and 105, also driven thru clutch 36. Motors 73 are actuated
so that the grippers 72 grip over the top corners of the bag
25. The bag has been maintained with the top edge in the
horizontal reference line 26 by the V-belts 33 so that the
grippers 72 grasp successive bags at the same horizontal
reference line position. The motors 34 then swing the belts
.33 away fxom the bag because it is now being held~by the grippers
72. The bag is in a position similar to the position 25B
: shown in FIG. 6, except the bag is not filled at this point in
time.
Next the front and rear outer clam sh~ells 94 and 95
.20 are closed and because the front outer clam shell 94 is longer
it strikes the upwardly extending rear lip 115 of the bag and
pushes it backwardly despite the urging of the air cylinder 77
which urges apart the arms 74. This creates a positive opening
between the front and rear faces of the bag 25. Next .the air
- pressure is released on motor 77 and motor 78 lifts the arms 74
- and hence a closed outer clam shell spout 50 penetrates between
the front and rear faces of the bag. The grippers 72 are lifted
sufficiently to positively spout the bag 25 on the outer clam
shell spout 50 to the position 25C shown in FIG. 5.
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1 The released air pressure on air motor 77 during
this upward movement of the bag permits the arms 74 to move
together slightly as necessary to permit the bag to be raised
upwardly on the outer clam shell spout without stressing
the bag.
When the bag is thus raised onto th~ outer clam
shell spout air motor 122 causes the two halves of the outer
clam shell spout to open in preparation for filling the bag.
At this time, also, sensors 96 are either engaged or not
depending on whether or not the bag has been properly positioned
and i~ ready to receive a charge of material. The bag thus
; spouted remains almost completely closed because it is a side
gusseted bag and because the grippers 72, clamped on these
gussets, prevent the opening of the gussets at the top and
hence restrain the opening of the entire bag. This opening
of the bag top around the outer clam shell spout 50 is the
extent to which the bag is open, thus there is a minimum of
air volume inside the bag at this time.
Next the auger 52 is dri~en by the motor 54 and the
clam shell valve 64 opens to bulk fill the bag in the position
25C as supported by the grippers 72. A major portion of the
; nominal capacity of the bag is forced downwardly into the
bag at this bulk filling station 14. The auger 52 may be a
large diameter single pitch thread auger to rapidly fill the
bag to about 90 percent of its nominal capacity, for example.
The substantially completely de-aerated powder material is
forced downwardly into the bag and this is what opens the bag,
thus precluding the entrance of practically all air into the
bag. Thus the bag is filled from the top down by being forced
thereinto by the auger 52. This auger may be a large diameter
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~L058583
1 for example approximating 1/3 the width of the bag. In one
machine constructed in accordance with the invention the
auger was five inches in diameter for a bag of about 15 inche~
in width which might hold 50 pounds of material. As an option,
the vacuum probe 66 may be lowered into the bag through the
hollow stem of the auger 52. This vacuum probe is a tube with
a porous materia~ along its length so that it will evacuate any
air which might tend to be within the material in the bag.
This vacuum probe is lowered by the motor 68 and is withdrawn
just before the inner clam shell valve 64 is closed. After
the slug of material filling the major portion of the capacity
of the bag has been forced into the bag, the auger 52 is stopped
and the inner clam shell valve 64 is closed. The grippers 72
are lowered by the motor 78 so that the nearly filled bag rests
on the two belts 104 and 105 in position 25B shown in FIG. 6,
with the top edge of the bag aligned with respect to reference
` line 26. The motor 34 for the arms 30 are act~uated to close
~ the V-belts on the top portion of the bag maintaining the top
- of the bag on reference line 2h and then the motor 73 releases
the grippers 72, The V-belts 33 then may be actuated at the
same time that the conveyor 104, 105 is actuated to move the
nearly filled bag from the first to the second filling station.
At the second filling station 15, the motors 83 are
actuated so that the grippers grip over the top corners of the
bag in a position 25D, see FIG. 6. The grippers grip the
gussets to keep these gussets closed and to maintain the top
edge of the bag at this same reference line 26. The V-belts
33 are then actuated to move away from the bag. The outer
clam shell spout Sl is then actuated closed s~ that ~he outer
front clam shell 98 engages and pushes rearwardly the upwardly
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1 extending rear lip 115 of the bag to slightly open the bag.
The motor 87 is then deactivated to remove the outwardly
urging force between the two arms 84. Motor 88 is actuated
to raise t~e arms 84, grippers 82 and the nearly filled bag
upwardly to the position 25E shown in FIG. 5. This is the
position with the openable end of the bag received on the
outer clam shell spout 51.
The auger motor SS is a two speed motor and it is
started in the hi~h speed position to drive auger 53 at the
~0 same time that the inner clam shell valve 65 opens. This is a
dribble fill or secondary fill of the bag which will relatively
rapidly fill the bag to a predetermined calibrated value, in
`~ this case the value is the weight of the bag and contents.
When the bag reaches a predetermined ~alue~,~for example, about
99 percent full, then the motor 55 is actuated to a second slower
speed condition for a final topping off of the contents within
the bag. When the load cell or scale 81 reaches the predeter-
mined value, this stops the auger drive motor 55 and closes
the inner clam sheIl valve 65 to maintain this precise weight
of the bag and contents. This final filling of the bag at the
:
position 25E takes place at approximately the same time as the
bulk filling of the next sequential bag at the first filling
station 14, so that a continuous process of filling bags is being
achieved by the machlne ll.
The motor 88 then lowers the arms 84 and grippers 82
so that the completely filled bag rests on the conveyor belts
104 and 105 with the top edge of the bag aligned wlth respect
to reference line 26. This will be the position as shown in
FIG. 6. Next the V-belts 33 are moved inwardly by the motors
34 so as to maintain the top edge of the bags at the reference
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.
585~33
1 line 26. The motors ~3 rèlease the grippers 82 and the
conveyor 103 is actuated along with the drive of the V-belts
33 to move the completely filled bag off the end of the
conveyor 103 onto the convèyor 108. This conveyor 108 is
driven continuously by motor 35 so as to transport the now
filled bag throughout the sealing and cIosing device. Also
belts 109, 110 are being driven, continuously and in
synchronism to recei~e and movingly support the top of the
bag at reference line 26. The filled bag then moves into the
bag cleaning and sealing means 114 whereat the top o the
bag is partially opened and subject to a "scrubbingl' action
by high pressure air jets directed onto the inner heat-sealable
areas of the bag and the top rear lip, having thereon a heat
sensitive adhesive, for the purpose of removing excess dust
which might impair the security of heat-seals and/or secure
bag closure. Next, in sequence, the bag passes through a
series of spring-loaded heated platens where the inner heat-
sealable material is sea~led and a set of compression rolls
the purpose of which is to set the seal. Continued movement
of the bag on conveyor 108 moves the bag through the bag closing
means 116 whereat the longer rear lip 115 is partially folded
over, the adhesive thereon is activated by heat, the lip
folding completed and the resulting bag closure secured by the
compression belts 117.
- The present machine is considerably superior to the
prior art machines whlch took a long time and considerable man
hours in order to fill powdery material into bags. The prior
art machines were attempting to fill bags with powdery material
which was aerated and hence a considerable amount of time was
required for the powdery material to settle within the bag
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-` 1058S~3
1 before tha bag could be closed. In the present case the amount
of air entrained in the powdery material is kept to a minimum
because of the primary and seconaary conditioning stations 19
and 20. A~so by forcing tha powdery material down into the
nearly completely'closed bag at the bulk filling station 14,
a minimum of air is introduced into the bag at this time.
The prior art machines attempted to fill from the bot'to~ up,
but in order to fill from the bottom up, the bag had to be
completely opened and inserted upwardly over a long spout which
reached to the bottom of the bag. ~his meant that the bag
was substantially completely open and full of air. Then when
the powdery materiaI was dropped into the bottom of the bag,
it was aerated by this dropping in addition to having possibly
also been aerated before~or during the time that it was
introduced into the bag filling hopper. The present invention
eliminates this nuisance of having aerated material in the bag
and thus achieves a considerably greater productivity per
machine and per man hour.
Many different' types of bags~may be used on this
machine. Pinch bottom bags are shown. These are bags which
i have gussets along the full length of the sides caused by a
; folding of the material hence are termed folded-side-gusseted
bags. Square bottom bags may also be used which are side
gusseted or flat-type bags may also be used which are not side
- gusseted because in each case the grippers 72 and 82 grip over
the sides of the bag to maintain them closed and thus form
restraining means to restrain the opening mo~ement of the bag
until the bag is forced open by the entrance of the powdery
material. Barrier bags may also be used namely those of a
kraft paper outer bag with a plastic liner as a barrier to
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~L0585~3
1 moisture and entrance of vermin and the like where foodstuffs
are being bagged. The barrier or plastic liner may be of many
types either permanently, semipermanently, or partially
attachèd t~ the interior of the kraft outer bag.
The V-belts 33 and V-belts 109, 110 act as clamping
conveyor means engaging the flat faces of the bags just below
the level of the grippers 72 and 82 to maintain the bag upright
during the lateral shifting and to maintain the top lip vf the
bag always in alignment at the reference line 26. This
lateral shifting is effected by the first shifting means or
conveyor 103 as the primary supporting and conveying means of
the bags. The grippers 72 and 82 of course grasp the bag
above the level of these V-belts 33 and 109, 110. It will also
be notea that the motor 78 is an actuator means to relatively
bring together the bag and the outer clam shell spout at the
bag filling station. In the preferred embodiment illustrated
this relative movement is caused by a raising:of the bag onto
:
the outer clam shell spout. several forms of- powered supply
means supplying t-he powdery material to the bags may be
~20 provided, and in the preferred:embodiment this powered supply
means are the augers 52 and 53.
The actuator means also incluaes the gri.ppers 72 and
82 and because these grippers grasp the side gussets of the bags
.they act as restralning means restraining opening of the bag
- against the forced opening by the entry of the powdery material.
The primary and secondary conditioning stations 19 and
20 comprise a ae-aeration mean.c to substantially de-aerate the
powdery material. The material is supplied to and stays for a
sufficiently long time period in each of the containers 39 and
43 and at a sufficiently small vertical height of material so
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~58583
1 that any air therein is permitted to gradually escape from this
material. Also the aelivery screw 42 once hoppers 48 and 49
are initially filled, forces the powdered material upwardly
from the bottom up into the container 43 and thus it does not
have a chance to fall downwardly out of the end of this
delivery screw, as in the prior art machines, and hence the
powdery matexial does not become again aerated.
While we have illus~rated and described a preferred
embodiment o* our invention, it will be understood that this
is by way of example only and not to be construed as limiting.
i:
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. 30
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