Ice bagging apparatus
First Claim
1. A novel enhanced process for preparing ice for retail consumption, comprising the steps of:
- providing a predetermined amount of ice in appropriately sized aliquots for further processing;
channeling the ice into a hopper assembly;
feeding a bag member into a kicker assembly;
opening the bag member with volumetric expansion techniques;
aligning the opened bag member with an ice chute;
closing a top door;
moving a drawer up a ramp and dropping ice into an open ice bag;
returning a drawer to a first position;
opening a top door;
sealing a resulting ice bag; and
rotating the resultant bag.
21 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an ice-bagging apparatus and method are provided. The apparatus comprises an ice maker for making ice and hopper for receiving the ice from the ice maker. The apparatus further includes a drawer system, operatively associated with the hopper, for measuring the ice and delivering of the ice. The drawer system includes top door and drawer. A bag delivery mechanism for placing the ice in a bag is also included, with the bag delivery mechanism including a bag supply mechanism, a blower engaged to open the mouth of the bag to receive the product, and a sealer that seals the open mouth of the bag once the bag is filled with the ice. A control device is included that manages and monitors the drawer and bag delivery mechanism and allows transmission of the collected data to the Internet.
102 Citations
5 Claims
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1. A novel enhanced process for preparing ice for retail consumption, comprising the steps of:
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providing a predetermined amount of ice in appropriately sized aliquots for further processing;
channeling the ice into a hopper assembly;
feeding a bag member into a kicker assembly;
opening the bag member with volumetric expansion techniques;
aligning the opened bag member with an ice chute;
closing a top door;
moving a drawer up a ramp and dropping ice into an open ice bag;
returning a drawer to a first position;
opening a top door;
sealing a resulting ice bag; and
rotating the resultant bag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification