Packaging apparatus
First Claim
1. A packaging apparatus for the production of bags for products for infusion, each of the bags including a mouth and being formed from a piece of woven fabric, in which a dose of said product is deposited;
- a tying thread being wound around the mouth of the bag;
a label being attached to the thread, the label adapted for supporting and handling the bag while making an infusion, the apparatus comprising sequentially along a feed line;
a first station which feeds a continuous strip of said fabric in a flat configuration towardsa second station equipped with a transverse cutting unit adapted for cutting the strip into a series of flat pieces of fabric;
a third station, having means for transforming the pieces of fabric from the flat configuration to a bag configuration, the bag being generally tubular in shape and having an open top which forms the mouth;
the third station also comprising means for feeding a dose of the product into the bag;
a fourth station, having first means for picking up the tubular bag by a portion of the bag below the mouth, this fourth station also adapted for transferring the tubular bag toa fifth station, having first means for cutting a predetermined portion of the open top of the tubular bag which is not held by the means for picking up the bag;
a sixth station adapted to wind and tie off the tying thread around the bag mouth forming a closed bag containing a single dose of the product, the tying thread having first and second projecting portions continuously connecting a previous and a subsequent bag;
a seventh station for feeding a label to the first projecting portion of the tying thread;
an eighth station adapted for attachment of the label at a predetermined point on the continuous thread;
the eighth station having second means for cutting the second portion of thread which extends beyond the predetermined point at which the label is attached;
wherein, the sixth station comprises a first driven tubular shaft rotatable about a vertical axis, an upper end of the shaft including a thread locating boss being vertical and parallel with said vertical axis;
the continuous thread extending from a thread feed unit and through the boss;
a second shaft opposite the first shaft having a vertical axis and supported by a first horizontal arm, movable between a thread ring formation position, in which the second shaft is coaxial with the first shaft and the boss is positioned to rotate about the second shaft to preform a portion of the thread into a ring shape, and a ring set-down position, in which the second shaft is positioned over the mouth of a bag positioned in the fourth station, so as to downwardly position and deposit the ring around the mouth of the bag.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The packaging apparatus for bags containing products for infusion envisages a plurality of stations located one after another along a feed line and used first to continuously cut successive individual pieces of fabric from a continuous strip of fabric, then to transform the piece of fabric from its flat configuration to a bag configuration, tubular in shape and with an open top which forms the mouth and into which a dose of product is inserted; the tubular bag is then moved to stations which cut the excess part of the mouth to size and close the mouth by tying it with a continuous thread, so as to form a closed bag, containing a single dose of product and having a projecting upper portion of thread; finally, a label is attached to the thread on each bag and the label is inserted in the bag tying zone.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A packaging apparatus for the production of bags for products for infusion, each of the bags including a mouth and being formed from a piece of woven fabric, in which a dose of said product is deposited;
- a tying thread being wound around the mouth of the bag;
a label being attached to the thread, the label adapted for supporting and handling the bag while making an infusion, the apparatus comprising sequentially along a feed line;a first station which feeds a continuous strip of said fabric in a flat configuration towards a second station equipped with a transverse cutting unit adapted for cutting the strip into a series of flat pieces of fabric; a third station, having means for transforming the pieces of fabric from the flat configuration to a bag configuration, the bag being generally tubular in shape and having an open top which forms the mouth;
the third station also comprising means for feeding a dose of the product into the bag;a fourth station, having first means for picking up the tubular bag by a portion of the bag below the mouth, this fourth station also adapted for transferring the tubular bag to a fifth station, having first means for cutting a predetermined portion of the open top of the tubular bag which is not held by the means for picking up the bag; a sixth station adapted to wind and tie off the tying thread around the bag mouth forming a closed bag containing a single dose of the product, the tying thread having first and second projecting portions continuously connecting a previous and a subsequent bag; a seventh station for feeding a label to the first projecting portion of the tying thread; an eighth station adapted for attachment of the label at a predetermined point on the continuous thread;
the eighth station having second means for cutting the second portion of thread which extends beyond the predetermined point at which the label is attached;wherein, the sixth station comprises a first driven tubular shaft rotatable about a vertical axis, an upper end of the shaft including a thread locating boss being vertical and parallel with said vertical axis;
the continuous thread extending from a thread feed unit and through the boss;
a second shaft opposite the first shaft having a vertical axis and supported by a first horizontal arm, movable between a thread ring formation position, in which the second shaft is coaxial with the first shaft and the boss is positioned to rotate about the second shaft to preform a portion of the thread into a ring shape, and a ring set-down position, in which the second shaft is positioned over the mouth of a bag positioned in the fourth station, so as to downwardly position and deposit the ring around the mouth of the bag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
- a tying thread being wound around the mouth of the bag;
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33. An apparatus for tying a mouth of a bag for products for infusion, comprising:
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a frame; a first driven tubular shaft mounted to the frame and rotatable about a vertical axis, an upper end of the shaft including a thread locating boss being vertical and parallel with said vertical axis; a continuous thread extending from a thread feed unit and through the boss; a second shaft opposite the first shaft having a vertical axis and supported by a first horizontal arm mounted to the frame, the second shaft movable between a thread ring formation position, in which the second shaft is coaxial with the first shaft and the boss is positioned to rotate about the second shaft to preform a portion of the thread into a ring shape, and a ring set-down position, in which the second shaft is positioned over the mouth of a bag, so as to downwardly position and deposit the ring around the mouth of the bag.
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34. A method for the production of a bag for products for infusion, wherein the bag is formed in a series of stages, comprising:
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a first stage, in which a dose of the product is deposited on a flat piece of fabric; a second stage for forming the flat piece of fabric into a generally tubular bag configuration having a closed bottom end and an open top forming a bag mouth with the dose closed inside the bag; a third stage, in which a first loop of thread is formed about an axis separate from an axis of the mouth of the bag, moved to a position above the mouth of the bag, moved downwardly over the mouth of the bag and tightened around the mouth of the bag, a second loop of thread having a same configuration as a configuration of the first loop of thread is formed about an axis separate from the axis of the mouth of the bag, moved to a position above the mouth of the bag, moved downwardly over the mouth of the bag to a position adjacent the first loop and tightened around the mouth of the bag to close the bag, a fourth stage, in which a label is attached to an end of the thread protruding from the bag. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification