US3671033A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Machine and method for folding plastic bags and the like
Assignee: Glad Products Co
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Filing: 1970-11-23
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Granted: 1972-06-20
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Expires: 1990-11-23
Abstract
Abstract An automatic, variable speed, plastic-bag-folding machine which takes flat plastic bags, rolls, folds, flattens and packages the bags; the machine consists of a conveyor belt assembly (FIGS. 1 & 2) fed by the discharge of a plastic-bag-making machine which feeds the bags into rolling, folding (FIGS. 6 & 7) and multi-bag packaging sections (FIG. 8), synchronized by a pneumatic control system (FIG. 9); the preferred embodiment produces the tubular, rolled bag by a circularly disposed set of interdigitated rollers (FIGS. 3-5); a second embodiment utilizes a continuous belt having a geometric circular rolling section therein to produce the tubular rolled bag (FIGS. 10 & 11). Having formed the rolled bag, a vertical pin located at the middle of the tubular bag is thrust perpendicular to and against the tubular roll pulling the flexible bag from the rolling section and producing a half-fold; as the bag is pulled from the rolling section it is passed between two inwardly biased rollers to flatten the bag and then pushed into the multi-bag packaging section consisting of a tightly fitted pin slot on a set of conveyor chains which holds and secures the folded bag as the pin is retracted in preparation for the next bag folding cycle; when the appropriate number of bags have been folded and secured, a commercial packaging box is fitted beneath the loaded slots and a set of fingers are activated to push the bags out of the slots into the box.
Inventors
- 👤 John B Coast
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 15:57
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65B; B65B63/00; B65B63/04; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S242/00; Y10S242/03
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 31
Claim 1
Independent Claim
186 words
A folding machine for folding flexible sheet material such as plastic bags and the like comprising: rolling means for rolling the material into a roll comprising a rolling section disposed about at least 180 degrees of a circle, said rolling section presenting on its inward side a moving surface throughout a substantial portion of said 180 degrees of a circle, said moving surface driving the material into a roll, said roller section being divided into at least two laterally disposed sub-sections having an open, unobstructed area therebetween; introduction means for introducing the material into said rolling means; removal means for removing the rolled material from said rolling means, said removal means including an extended member extended in a direction at least generally perpendicular to the axis of the curved surface defined by said rolling section, the rolled material being removed from said rolling section by the extended member moving through and across said open area, moving the rolled material out of said rolling section; and folding means for folding the rolled material as desired after it is removed from said rolling section by said removal means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
186 words
A folding machine for folding flexible sheet material such as plastic bags and the like comprising: rolling means for rolling the material into a roll comprising a rolling section disposed about at least 180 degrees of a circle, said rolling section presenting on its inward side a moving surface throughout a substantial portion of said 180 degrees of a circle, said moving surface driving the material into a roll, said roller section being divided into at least two laterally disposed sub-sections having an open, unobstructed area therebetween; introduction means for introducing the material into said rolling means; removal means for removing the rolled material from said rolling means, said removal means including an extended member extended in a direction at least generally perpendicular to the axis of the curved surface defined by said rolling section, the rolled material being removed from said rolling section by the extended member moving through and across said open area, moving the rolled material out of said rolling section; and folding means for folding the rolled material as desired after it is removed from said rolling section by said removal means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
The machine of claim 1 wherein each of said rolling sub-sections has a substantial width as measured along their longitudinal axes, the total width of each being greater than the radius of said circle, the width of said open area being substantially less than the width of said rolling sub-sections.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
introducing the flexible sheet material in a flat state into said rolling means, and rolling said sheet material into a roll by said moving surface driving the material into a roll;
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
introducing the flexible sheet material in a flat state into said rolling means, and rolling said sheet material into a roll by said moving surface driving the material into a roll;
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
providing removal means for removing the rolled material from said rolling means, said removal means including an extended member extended in a direction at least generally perpendicular to the axis of the curved surface defined by said rolling section;
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
providing removal means for removing the rolled material from said rolling means, said removal means including an extended member extended in a direction at least generally perpendicular to the axis of the curved surface defined by said rolling section;
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
51 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein each of said rolling sub-sections are of equal width, said open area being in the middle of said rolling means and said extended member contacting the rolled material in the vicinity of its mid-section as the rolled material is moved out of said rolling section.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein said rolling section is a series of horizontally disposed, juxtaposed, parallel rollers whose axes are disposed about said circle to form the curved portion of said rolling section.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
removing the rolled material from said rolling section by means of removing said extended member through and across said open area of said rolling section and thereby moving the rolled material out of said rolling section; and
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
removing the rolled material from said rolling section by means of removing said extended member through and across said open area of said rolling section and thereby moving the rolled material out of said rolling section; and
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
folding said rolled material in half as the rolled material is being removed from said rolling section and flattening the folded, rolled material after it has been removed from said rolling section.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
folding said rolled material in half as the rolled material is being removed from said rolling section and flattening the folded, rolled material after it has been removed from said rolling section.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The machine of claim 4 wherein said rollers have alternating depressions and raised portions which interdigitate with the alternating depressions and raised portions of the adjacent roller(s).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein said rolling section is a continuous, endless moving belt system which follows a curved path.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
34 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein the linear speed of said moving surface is at least equal to the speed at which the material is introduced into said rolling means by said introduction means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
The machine of claim 7 wherein said lineAr speed is substantially greater than the speed of the material.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein said rolling section forms a laterally and horizontally disposed cul-de-sac, the material being introduced into the cul-de-sac formed by said rolling section at its lower lip.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
35 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein said extended member is a vertically disposed elongated finger-like pin which extends down across the full inner diameter of said rolling section as it moves across said open area.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
51 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein said folding means comprises a pair of parallel, juxtaposed rollers which bear toward each other and are disposed adjacent to said open area, said extended member upon passing through said open area pulling said rolled material through and passed said juxtaposed rollers for folding thereof.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
32 words
The machine of claim 2 wherein there is included preliminary packaging means adjacent to said folding means for temporarily holding a series of rolled and folded materials prior to the packaging thereof.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
64 words
The machine of claim 12 wherein said preliminary packaging means comprises a series of adjacent, opposing pins mounted on and extending out from the periphery of a set of chains carried by a series of rotatable sprockets, said extended member carrying and depositing the rolled and folded materials into and between said adjacent, opposing pins after passing through said folding means for temporary storage.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
50 words
The machine of claim 13 wherein said set of chains passes around and over one of said sprocket at the point where the rolled and folded material is deposited between the pins, causing the pins to be open wide at their entry portion for easy entry of the materials therein.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
222 words
A folding machine for folding flexible sheet material such as plastic bags and the like comprising: rolling means for rolling the material into a roll comprising a rolling section formed by two sets of a series of horizontally disposed, juxtaposed, parallel rollers whose axes are disposed about at least 180 degrees of a circle to thereby present on their inward side a moving surface throughout at least a substantial portion of said 180 degrees of a circle, said moving surface driving the material into a roll, each set of rollers having each roller parallel and in line with a corresponding roller in the other set, said sets being laterally disposed to each other but separated apart and having an open, unobstructed area therebetween; introduction means for introducing the material into said rolling section; removal means for removing the rolled material from said rolling section, said removal means including an extended member extended in a direction at least generally perpendicular to the axis of the curved surface defined by said rolling section, the rolled material being removed from said rolling section by the extended member moving through and across said open area, moving the rolled material out of said rolling section; and folding means for folding the rolled material as desired after it is removed from said rolling section by said removal means.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
222 words
A folding machine for folding flexible sheet material such as plastic bags and the like comprising: rolling means for rolling the material into a roll comprising a rolling section formed by two sets of a series of horizontally disposed, juxtaposed, parallel rollers whose axes are disposed about at least 180 degrees of a circle to thereby present on their inward side a moving surface throughout at least a substantial portion of said 180 degrees of a circle, said moving surface driving the material into a roll, each set of rollers having each roller parallel and in line with a corresponding roller in the other set, said sets being laterally disposed to each other but separated apart and having an open, unobstructed area therebetween; introduction means for introducing the material into said rolling section; removal means for removing the rolled material from said rolling section, said removal means including an extended member extended in a direction at least generally perpendicular to the axis of the curved surface defined by said rolling section, the rolled material being removed from said rolling section by the extended member moving through and across said open area, moving the rolled material out of said rolling section; and folding means for folding the rolled material as desired after it is removed from said rolling section by said removal means.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
36 words
The machine of claim 15 wherein the length of said rollers is substantially greater than the radius of said circle and the width of said open area being substantially less than the length of said rollers.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
52 words
The machine of claim 16 wherein each of said sets of rollers are equal in length, said open area being in the middle of said rolling means and said extended member contacting the rolled material in the vicinity of its mid-section as the rolled material is moved out of said roller section.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
18 words
The method of folding flexible sheet material such as plastic bags and the like comprising the steps of:
Claim 29
Independent Claim
18 words
The method of folding flexible sheet material such as plastic bags and the like comprising the steps of:
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 18 wherein said rolling section is formed of two sets of a series of horizontally disposed, juxtaposed, parallel rollers whose axes are disposed about said 180 degrees, and wherein step (1) further includes driving said rollers at a relatively high speed, producing a centrifugal action forcing the material out against said moving surface, and thereby positively driving the material into a roll.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
75 words
The method of claim 19 wherein said sets of rollers are of equal length, said open area being in the middle of said rolling means, and wherein step (2) includes introducing the material into said rolling means so that the mid-line of the material is introduced at said open area, the extended member contacting the rolled material in the vicinity of its mid-section as the roller material is being moved out of said roller section.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-06-20 | 1975-12-20 | 1976-06-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-06-20 | 1979-12-20 | 1980-06-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-06-20 | 1983-12-20 | 1984-06-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |