MACHINE FOR AUTOMATICALLY FORMING A BAG AND FILLING SAME WITH A DOSAGE OR GRANULAR MATERIAL

• US 3,805,483 A
• Filed: 04/14/1972
• Issued: 04/23/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Andrea Romagnoli
• Original Assignee: Andrea Romagnoli
• Inventors: Romagnoli, Andrea
• Primary Examiner(s): McGehee, Travis S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sipos, J.
• Application Number:
  US05/244,211
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 53/29,134,194,173,183
• US Class Current: 53/134.2
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 29/04 Attaching, or forming and attaching, string handles or tags to tea bags

Abstract

A machine for automatically forming a bag and filling same with a dosage of granular material comprises a rotatable conveying head having a plurality of arms extending radially outwardly therefrom and each arm contains at its distal end a gripper mechanism. A transmission system rotationally drives the conveying head in an intermittent, setpwise manner to sequentially advance the gripper mechanisms to a series of work stations. The work stations sequentially and repeatedly effect formation of a paper bag from a paper strip, filling of the bag with a dosage of granular material, mechanicaly closing of the filled bag, attachment of a string and label to the closed bag, and covering of the labelled bag with a protective covering.

Claims

1. An apparatus for forming and filling paper bags comprising:

a rotatably mounted conveying head having a plurality of arms extending radially outwardly therefrom in circumferentially spaced-apart relationship;

a plurality of work-gripping means mounted on respective ones of said arms for releasably gripping a paper object to be worked upon;

means for intermittently rotating said conveying head to sequentially and intermittently advance said work-gripping means along a predetermined path of travel;

bag-forming means positioned along said path of travel cooperative with said work-gripping means to form a paper bag from a strip of paper;

bag-filling means operative when said work-gripping means is moved to a predetermined position along said path of travel to fill a paper bag gripped by said workgripping means with a granular product;

means operative when said work-gripping means is moved to another predetermined position along said path of travel for applying a string and label composite to a filled bag gripped by said work-gripping means; and

means for removing a filled bag from said work gripping means and applying a protective covering thereon and then returning the covered bag to the work gripping means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1;

wherein said bag-forming means comprises strip-cutting means for cutting a predetermined length of paper strip from a paper strip supply;

a movably mounted sword movable to a first position to receive draped thereover said length of paper strip and movable to a second position; and

means cooperative with said sword during movement thereof to said second position to effect folding of said length of paper strip into a paper bag.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2;

wherein said last-mentioned means comprises a shaping funnel positioned to receive therein said sword during movement thereof to said second position;

said shaping funnel having mounted therein first and second pairs of wedge-shaped elements cooperative, respectively, with first and second pairs of helically-shaped elements to effect folding of said length of paper strip during insertion of said sword into said shaping funnel.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2;

wherein said strip-cutting means comprises a pair of rotAtably mounted feed rollers positioned to receive therebetween a paper strip from said paper strip supply;

means for rotationally driving said feed rollers to effect feeding of said paper strip to a cutting zone;

rotatably mounted cutting assembly positioned in said cutting zone operative to cut said predetermined lengths of paper strip from the paper strip fed by said feed rollers; and

means mounting said feed rollers and cutting assembly for movement together as an integral unit in synchronization with the movement of said sword to effect draping of the cut length of paper strip over said sword when said sword is in said first position.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1;

wherein said bag-filling means comprises means defining a storage chamber containing therein a supply of granular product;

a rotationally driven product dispensing mechanism disposed within said storage chamber operative during rotation to supply a predetermined dosage of granular product into a paper bag gripped by said work-gripping means; and

means for variably setting the dosage supplied by said product-dispensing mechanism.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1;

wherein said string and label applying means comprises means for cutting a label from a supply reel of labels;

a supply of string;

means or attaching an end of said string to said label;

means for cutting a predetermined length of the attached string from said supply of string; and

means for attaching the string and label composite to a filled paper bag when same is positioned in said further predetermined position.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6;

including means operative after said predetermined length of string is cut to effect folding of said label; and

means or positioning the folded label over a portion of the filled paper bag with said predetermined length of string positioned between the folds of said folded label.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1;

wherein said covering means includes a pair of rotatably mounted knurled wheels operative during rotation to mechanically close edge portions of said protective covering; and

means for rotationally driving said knurled wheels.