Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/12—Feeding flexible bags or carton blanks in flat or collapsed state; Feeding flat bags connected to form a series or chain
  • B65B43/14—Feeding individual bags or carton blanks from piles or magazines
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/26—Opening or distending bags; Opening, erecting, or setting-up boxes, cartons, or carton blanks
  • B65B43/262—Opening or distending bags; Opening, erecting, or setting-up boxes, cartons, or carton blanks opening of valve bags
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/10—Feeding, e.g. conveying, single articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/12—Feeding flexible bags or carton blanks in flat or collapsed state; Feeding flat bags connected to form a series or chain

Definitions

• the present invention refers to plants and machines adapted for filling bags or sacks with flowable materials, particularly powder materials. More precisely the invention relates to an apparatus for delivering or supplying single valve bags to a bags filling machine or sacker.
• valve bags or sacks i.e. bags provided with a pair of flanges folded on two edges, one of the flanges being provided with an opening or valve for introducing the material into the bag.
• the flange equipped with the valve is sometime called “valve” and both flanges are pivotable with respect to the bag body.
• the filling operation is very quick, so that it is highly desirable a delivery apparatus capable of matching the filling rate of the bag filling machine.
• an apparatus allowing a quick and continuous transferring of the bags, practically without any dead time.
• the invention consists in an apparatus for automatically transferring valved bags as claimed in claim 1.
• Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus in accordance with the invention.
• Fig.s 2 and 3 are a top view and an end view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, respectively;
• Fig.s 4 to 8 are views illustrating some details of the supplying apparatus
• Fig. 9 is a side view of another embodiment of the device for picking up the bags from a stack.
• Fig. 10 is a cross section view of the device shown in Fig. 9, with some components shown in two different operating position.
• reference 1 indicates a stack of piled valve bags that are to be individually presented to the nozzle of a filling machine (not shown).
• Each bag or sack 2 has two flanges or end portions 2a and 2b formed as bellows, and one of the flanges, e.g. flange 2a, is formed with an opening or "valve" for filling the bag.
• the apparatus for supplying the bags to a filling machine substantially comprises: a member 3, hereinbelow called “selector”, for picking up the individual bags from the stack 1; a continuous bag conveyor 4 provided with a plurality of elements 5, hereinbelow called “receivers”, each being adapted to receive and retain a bag at a first position along the conveyor path of travel and to carry it to a second position from where it will be transferred to the filling machine; a first transfer device 6 for moving the bags from the selector 3 to the conveyor 4, and a second transfer device 7 for moving the bags from the conveyor 4 to the filling machine.
• a pressing member such as a preloaded roll or wheel 8, that engages the stack at the flanges 2b that are farther from the first transfer device 6 to prevent the simultaneous pickup of two or more bags.
• the conveyor 4 comprises a belt 40 made up by a plurality of plates or the like pivotally
• receivers 5 formed as elongated box-like members having a C-shaped cross section and opened at their ends .
• a longitudinal slot 51 imparts the C shape to the receiver.
• One of the pulleys e.g. pulley 42, is positioned in such a manner that when a receiver 5 moving around it assumes a vertical configuration, the end opening of such receiver 5 is facing the first transfer device 6.
• the location in the conveyor path of travel at which the receiver assumes a vertical configuration corresponds to the above mentioned first position.
• the second position is located in the lower horizontally extending path of the
• the second position is selected before the middle point of such horizontal path.
• the spacing between the longitudinal axes of two subsequent receivers 5 depends on one transversal dimension (the shorther one) usually selected for the valve (flange) in the bags designed for a given material, and preferably corresponds to the maximum allowable size. By means of a proper choice of the cross section shape of the receivers, these latter will be capable of accepting valve bags of any transversal size.
• the selector 3 comprises an arm 9 formed as a metal sheet substantially folded at 90° and located for example near the flanges 2a, the width of the arm being sligthly smaller than that of the bags.
• the arm 9 comprises a horizontal part 9a and a vertical part 9b, this latter being secured to a support member 10 connected to means (not shown) imparting to the arm 9 a reciprocating (rectilinear) longitudinal movement that is parallel to the surface of the stack 1, along a direction orthogonal to the flanges 2a and 2b.
• the first transfer device 6 comprises a pair of rolls or wheels 11, 12 rotatable about vertical axes, one of the rolls being driven by a motor while the other is an idle roll.
• the rolls 11, 12 are located near the end of the run of the selector 3, so that the flange 2a, in the course of the rotation, can be inserted into the nip between the pair of rolls 11, 12.
• One of the two rolls (roll 11 in the drawings) can be horizontally displaced and pressed against the other roll for clamping the bag flange between them.
• the surfaces of both rolls 11, 12 are machined for a strong friction engagement with the flange (for example they are knurled), so that the bag can be moved along the direction of the peripheral speed of roll 11, and thrown into the vertically positioned receiver 5.
• a side stop wall 13 ( Figure 2) is provided on the side opposite to that of the bag's introduction, for preventing the outco ing of the bag from the receiver.
• the second transfer device 7 is located on one side of
• the lower path of the conveyor 4 and consists of a member 15 rotatable about a horizontal axis and adapted to engage the flange 2a of a bag carried by a receiver 5, in a similar manner to that of the
• the member 15 comprises a roll equipped with peripheral flanges of larger diameter, or a pair of small wheels supported on a common shaft.
• the member 15 is carried at the lower end of a rod of a piston 16 mounted to a support 17 postioned below the upper horizontal path of the conveyor 4. In the extended position, the rod of piston 16 presses the rotating roll 15 against the upper face of the flange 2a of a bag which is thus ejected from the receiver 5 due to the friction engagement with the rotating roll 15.
• the wall 50 of the receiver 5 provided with the receiving slot 51 is longer than the opposite continuous wall 52, thus defining a pair of projections 53 against which the member 15 presses the flange 2a of the bag.
• idle rolls or wheels 18 can be located in such projections to contrast the force applied by the member 15.
• the stack 1 of bags is carried to a position adapted to their transfer onto the conveyor 4.
• the selector 3 previously brought near the flanges 2b of the stack, is moved towards the flanges 2a so that the part 9a is inserted under the flange 2a of the bag laying at the top of the stack, and such bag is removed from under the roll 8.
• the flange 2a is rotated by the selector 3 with respect of the bag body and is inserted in the space between the two rolls 11, 12 of the device 6.
• the roll 11 is pressed against roll 12 for grasping the bag and throw it toward the facing
• the conveyor 4 is advanced to bring another receiver 5 into the vertical position, and then the above illustrated operations for picking up a bag 2 are repeated.
• the conveyor belt advances, the bag 2 is suspended through the slot 51 in the receiver, retained by the flange 2a resting on the walls 50 on the sides of slot 51.
• the rod of piston 16 is lowered to push the member 15 against the upper part of the flange 2a and the bag, (now at the right position for being filled) can be extracted from receiver 5 and transferred to the filling machine.
• the transfer is accomplished through the rotating movement of the member 15 engaging the flange 2a by friction.
• the flange engaged by the selector can be the one opposed to that carrying the valve, i.e. flange 2b;
• the first transfer device could comprise two or more pairs of rolls, with a roll of the pair driven so as to be translated and the other roll of the pair being driven to rotate;
• the second transfer device could comprise more than one member 15 (and more than one pair of rolls 18);
• the selector 3 could be be operated through a rotating movement, and so on.
• Fig.s 9 and 10 illustrate an alternate embodiment of the device for picking up one bag at a time from the stack 1.
• This picking device is generally indicated by reference 60 and comprises a frame 61 in which there are mounted a group of suction cup members 62 for picking up the bags, these cups being vertically movable from a lower position in which they engage a bag, to an upper position in which the bag can be released, and then again to the lower position.
• each suction cup 62 cooperates with a drilled plate 63 located under the cups for causing the detachment of the bag from the cups 62
• the number of which is such as to maintain the flange 2a substantially horizontal during the lifting.
• the picking device 60 further comprises endless belt means 64 movable at high speed around pulleys 81, 82 (at least one of them being a driven pulley) for engaging a bag released by the suction cups and transfer it to the conveyor 4 (not shown in Fig.s 9 and 10).
• belt means preferably comprises two spaced apart rubber belts 64a and 64b running side by side.
• Each belt 64a, 64b is adapted to engage the upper face of the flange 2a of a bag 2 and to this aim the lower face of each belt is substantially flush with the drilled plate 63.
• the picking device 60 further comprises a linkage assembly, hereinbelow also called “lever assembly” that comprises arms for supporting the bags collected by the belt means 64. More particularly the lever assembly comprises two linkages 65a and 65ba and since their construction is identical, only one of them will be illustrated in detail, with the refences of the other being within brackets.
• the linkage 65a comprises a shaft 71a (71b) supported by a bearing 72a (72b) in turn carried by a support 73a (73b) fixed to the frame 61 and connected by a traverse 74a (74b) to a bar or tube 75 (see Fig. 1) housing an arm 76a (76b).
• Each arm carries at the end an idle roll 77a (77b) provided with a support shaped so as to be inserted, when picking up a bag, between the valve (flange) and the body of the bag, and to push the bag body downwards for making easier its rotation with respect to the valve flange 2a.
• the two linkages 65a, 65b are connected to a support frame 67 vertically movable through a pneumatic cylinder 68 or other rectilinear actuator for raising and lowering the suction cups. More particularly the support frame 67 is guided by of rods 69 fastened thereto and slidable within sleeves 70. The movement of the cylinder 68 is controlled in the two directions by means of an electrovalve (not shown)
• each linkage 65a, 65b is movable from a raised and inoperative position (shown for the right linkage 65b in Fig. 10) to an operative position (shown to the left in Fig. 10 for link 65a) in which the rolls carried by the arms engage the lower face of the flange 2a carrying the valve.
• This rotation is caused by the shift movement of the above mentioned support frame 67 to which a pair of rods 79a, 79b are secured, that in turn are pivotally connected with a short lever arm 80a, 80b rotatably secured to the shaft 71a, 71b.
• the suction cups 62 communicate with a duct 66 wherein a permanent vacuum is generated through suitable means, such as a Venturi tube.
• suitable means such as a Venturi tube.
• the duct 66 is fastened to the support frame 67.
• the working of the disclosed picking device is as follows. After the bags (for example arranged in a stack 1) have been carried to a position in which their flanges 2a carrying the valve are located under the suction cups 62, cylinder 68 is activated for lowering the support 67. After the suction cups have come into contact with the valve flange of the first bag, this latter is sucked and made to adhere to the suction cups by the permanent vacuum created in duct 66. Moreover the lowering of the structure 67 causes the spreading of the linkages 65a, 65b, and their arms 76a, 76b are consequentely displaced away from the belts 64a, 64b and from the bag 2.
• the cylinder 68 reverses the movement thereof and during the lifting of frame 67 the suction cups 62 keep the flange 2a containing the valve in a horizontal posture while the flange is progressively raised from the bag body.
• the linkages 65a, 65b approach each other and the support 78b of the right arm pushes downwards the bag body thus easing its rotation in respect of the valve 2a.
• the invention is applicable in the field of filling valve bags with flowable materials.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)
• Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
• Package Closures (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
• Containers And Plastic Fillers For Packaging (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=26332306

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (14)

Families Citing this family (9)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 1996
  • 1996-11-21 AT AT96941021T patent/ATE183976T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-11-21 KR KR1019980704514A patent/KR20000064417A/ko not_active Withdrawn
  • 1996-11-21 DE DE69604086T patent/DE69604086D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-11-21 HU HU0000195A patent/HUP0000195A2/hu unknown
  • 1996-11-21 PL PL96327448A patent/PL327448A1/xx unknown
  • 1996-11-21 TR TR1998/01092T patent/TR199801092T2/xx unknown
  • 1996-11-21 SK SK776-98A patent/SK77698A3/sk unknown
  • 1996-11-21 BR BR9612129-7A patent/BR9612129A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1996-11-21 IL IL12489296A patent/IL124892A0/xx unknown
  • 1996-11-21 WO PCT/EP1996/005201 patent/WO1997022522A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-11-21 EP EP96941021A patent/EP0868350B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-11-21 CZ CZ981863A patent/CZ186398A3/cs unknown
  • 1996-11-21 EA EA199800447A patent/EA199800447A1/ru unknown
  • 1996-12-12 HR HRT096A000839A patent/HRP960586A2/hr not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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