Packaging method and machine

Claim 3

A packaging machine for bagging articles in a strip of connected bags formed from a longitudinally folded length of material having a series of transverse seams at spaced intervals along the strip and extending only partially across the strip toward the unfolded edge thereof, said machine comprising: means for feeding the strip longitudinally to a loading station; reversible means for retracting the portion of the strip which has passed the loading station, in a direction opposite to the feeding direction; and control means constructed and arranged to advance said feeding means, interrupt the operation of said feeding means as each successive bag arrives at the loading station, actuate said retracting means to open a bag at the loading station, reverse said retracting means to close the opened bag, and reactuate said feeding means to advance the strip to bring a succeeding bag to the loading station; bag-opening means comprising a flexible, collapsible tube interposed at the loading station between the opposed folds of said strip, and extending in a collapsed condition substantially parallel to the layers of the strip from the unfolded edge to terminate short of said transverse seams so that the strip may be fed freely in a longitudinal direction, said retracting means including tube-engaging means for opening said tube coincident with actuation of said retracting means to open a bag at the loading station.

Claim 4

A packaging machine for bagging articles in a strip of connected bags formed from a longitudinally folded length of material having a series of transverse seams at spaced intervals along the strip and extending only partially across the strip toward the unfolded edge thereof, said machine comprising: means for feeding the strip longitudinally to a loading station; reversible means for retracting the portion of the strip which has passed the loading station, in a direction opposite to the feeding direction; and control means constructed and arranged to advance said feeding means, interrupt the operation of said feeding means as each successive bag arrives at the loading station, actuate said retracting means to open a bag at the loading station, reverse said retracting means to close the opened bag, and reactuate said feeding means to advance the strip to bring a succeeding bag to the loading station; bag-opening means comprising a flexible, collapsible tube interposed at the loading station between the opposed folds of said strip, and extending in a collapsed condition substantially parallel to the layers of the strip from the unfolded edge to terminate short of said transverse seams so that the strip may be fed freely in a longitudinal direction, said retracting means including tube-engaging means for opening said tube coincident with actuation of said retracting means to open a bag at the loading station.

Claim 5

A packaging machine for bagging articles in a strip of connected bags formed from a longitudinally folded length of material having a series of transverse seams at spaced intervals along the strip and extending only partially across the strip toward the unfolded edge thereof, said machine comprising; means for feeding the strip longitudinally to a loading station; reversible means for retracting the portion of the strip which has passed the loading station, in a direction opposite to the feeding direction; and control means constructed and arranged to advance said feeding means, interrupt the operation of said feeding means as each successive bag arrives at the loading station, actuate said retracting means to open a bag at the loading station, reverse said retracting means to close the opened bag, and reactuate said feeding means to advance the strip to bring a succeeding bag to the loading station; heat-sealing means comprising an elongated heating element constructed and arranged to heat seal the connected bags along a longitudinal seam and to sever the sealed bags from an edge portion of the strip lying between the longitudinal seam and the unfolded longitudinal edge of the strip; first and second gripping means located in the direction of motion of the strip from said loading station at a distance to grip adjacent sealed bags on either side of an intervening transverse seam when another of said bags is located at the loading station, tearing means located between said gripping means to partially tear said intervening seam, and actuating means for moving said gripping means relative to one another in opposite directions to separate said adjacent bags; said control means being constructed and arranged to actuate said gripping and tearing means after retracting but before reversing said retracting means, then to move said gripping means to separate a bag from the strip, and finally to release said gripping and tearing means from the strip.

Claim 6

A packaging machine for bagging articles in a strip of connected bags formed from a longitudinally folded length of material having a series of transverse seams at spaced intervals along the strip and extending only partially across the strip toward the unfolded edge thereof, said machine comprising; means for feeding the strip longitudinally to a loading station; reversible means for retracting the portion of the strip which has passed the loading station, in a direction opposite to the feeding direction; and control means constructed and arranged to advance said feeding means, interrupt the operation of said feeding means as each successive bag arrives at the loading station, actuate said retracting means to open a bag at the loading station, reverse said retracting means to close the opened bag, and reactuate said feeding means to advance the strip to bring a succeeding bag to the loading station; heat-sealing means comprising an elongated heating element constructed and arranged to heat seal the connected bags along a longitudinal seam and to sever the sealed bags from an edge portion of the strip lying between the longitudinal seam and the unfolded longitudinal edge of the strip; first and second gripping means located in the direction of motion of the strip from said loading station at a distance to grip adjacent sealed bags on either side of an intervening transverse seam when another of said bags is located at the loading station, tearing means located between said gripping means to partially tear said intervening seam, and actuating means for moving said gripping means relative to one another in opposite directions to separate said adjacent bags; said control means being constructed and arranged to actuate said gripping and tearing means after retracting but before reversing said retracting means, then to move said gripping means to separate a bag from the strip, and finally to release said gripping and tearing means from the strip.

Claim 7

A packaging machine for bagging articles in a strip of connected bags formed from a longitudinally folded length of heat-sealable material having a series of transverse seams at spaced intervals along the strip and extending only partially across the strip toward the unfolded edge thereof, said machine comprising: means for feeding the strip longitudinally through a loading station, means for loading the bags successively, heat-sealing means comprising an elongated heating element arranged to engage the strip of bags at a point where they have passed said loading station, said heating element being constructed and arranged to heat seal the connected bags along a longitudinal seam and to sever the sealed bags from an edge portion of the strip lying between the longitudinal seam and the unfolded longitudinal edge of the strip; first and second gripping means located in the direction of motion of the strip from said loading station at a distance to grip adjacent sealed bags on either side of an intervening transverse seam when another of said bags is located at the loading station, tearing means located between said gripping means to partially tear said intervening seam, actuating means for moving said gripping means relative to one another in opposite directions to separate said adjacent bags, and control means constructed and arranged to successively actuate said gripping and tearing means, move said gripping means to separate a bag from the strip, and release said gripping and tearing means from the strip.

Claim 8

A packaging machine for bagging articles in a strip of connected bags formed from a longitudinally folded length of heat-sealable material having a series of transverse seams at spaced intervals along the strip and extending only partially across the strip toward the unfolded edge thereof, said machine comprising: means for feeding the strip longitudinally through a loading station, means for loading the bags successively, heat-sealing means comprising an elongated heating element arranged to engage the strip of bags at a point where they have passed said loading station, said heating element being constructed and arranged to heat seal the connected bags along a longitudinal seam and to sever the sealed bags from an edge portion of the strip lying between the longitudinal seam and the unfolded longitudinal edge of the strip; first and second gripping means located in the direction of motion of the strip from said loading station at a distance to grip adjacent sealed bags on either side of an intervening transverse seam when another of said bags is located at the loading station, tearing means located between said gripping means to partially tear said intervening seam, actuating means for moving said gripping means relative to one another in opposite directions to separate said adjacent bags, and control means constructed and arranged to successively actuate said gripping and tearing means, move said gripping means to separate a bag from the strip, and release said gripping and tearing means from the strip.

Claim 9

A packaging machine as recited in claim 2, together with blower means communicating with said tube to assist in opening bags in the loading station.

Claim 10

A packaging machine as recited in claim 2, in which said tube is formed by opposed layers of material stiffer than the material of said strip, said layers being joined at forward and rearward edges, relative to the direction of feeding of the strip, into V-shaped cross sections to open and close the bags gradually.

Claim 11

A packaging machine as recited in claim 2, said tube having a pair of flaps attached to opposite external walls thereof to overly exterior surfaces of the opposed folds of a portion of the strip in which said tube is inserted, to hold the folds in close conformity to the outer surfaces of said tube.