US3711086A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for folding lengths of material
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1970-09-01
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Granted: 1973-01-16
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Expires: 1990-09-01
Abstract
Abstract Lengths of material, such as plastic bags, fed from a bag forming machine are individually folded one or more times prepatory to packaging. Each length of material is wrapped around spaced and axially opposed vacuum pickup rollers to form a hollow cylindrical roll on said rollers. The roll is then bent in half by means of a blunt edge blade disposed with its longitudinal axis transversely related to the longitudinal axis of said hollow roll and the hollow roll is pushed in between two creasing rollers which bring both halves of the cylindrical roll together and squeeze each half into a flat creased folded portion.
Inventors
- 👤 H Weist
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 21:53
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65H; B65H5/00; B65H5/22; B65H5/222; B65H5/226; B65H45/00; B65H45/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
258 words
A material folding apparatus, for folding lengths of material fed from a web severing apparatus, which comprises: A. a frame, B. a feed portion for feeding said web onto said apparatus; C. a pair of spaced and axially opposed pickup rollers rotatably journaled in said frame and engagable with the lateral edges of said web, each of said rollers including: 1. vacuum outlets opening around the circumference of said rollers for engaging the lateral edges of said web in gripping relationship, 2. passages in said rollers in communication with said vacuum outlets; D. a vacuum pump in communication with said passages; E. means for rotating said rollers to wrap the lateral edges of said web around said roller to form a hollow cylindrical roll between said rollers; F. a plunger disposed above said hollow cylindrical roll midway between said opposed rollers which includes: 1. a blunt edged blade, disposed above said rollers with its long axis oriented transversely across said cylindrical roll near its midpoint, 2. said plunger, when extended pushing said blade across the middle of said roll to bend it in the middle and push it downwardly; G. a pair of driven creasing rollers below said roll and disposed so that their long axes are parallel to the long axis of said blade and which are designed to grab the leading edge of said bent cylindrical roll at the point of the bend in creasing engagement and to flatten both halves of said cylindrical roll together and drive same through said rollers to complete the fold.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
258 words
A material folding apparatus, for folding lengths of material fed from a web severing apparatus, which comprises: A. a frame, B. a feed portion for feeding said web onto said apparatus; C. a pair of spaced and axially opposed pickup rollers rotatably journaled in said frame and engagable with the lateral edges of said web, each of said rollers including: 1. vacuum outlets opening around the circumference of said rollers for engaging the lateral edges of said web in gripping relationship, 2. passages in said rollers in communication with said vacuum outlets; D. a vacuum pump in communication with said passages; E. means for rotating said rollers to wrap the lateral edges of said web around said roller to form a hollow cylindrical roll between said rollers; F. a plunger disposed above said hollow cylindrical roll midway between said opposed rollers which includes: 1. a blunt edged blade, disposed above said rollers with its long axis oriented transversely across said cylindrical roll near its midpoint, 2. said plunger, when extended pushing said blade across the middle of said roll to bend it in the middle and push it downwardly; G. a pair of driven creasing rollers below said roll and disposed so that their long axes are parallel to the long axis of said blade and which are designed to grab the leading edge of said bent cylindrical roll at the point of the bend in creasing engagement and to flatten both halves of said cylindrical roll together and drive same through said rollers to complete the fold.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
61 words
passages in said rollers in communication with said vacuum outlets; D. a vacuum pump in communication with said passages; E. means for rotating said rollers to wrap the lateral edges of said web around said roller to form a hollow cylindrical roll between said rollers; F. a plunger disposed above said hollow cylindrical roll midway between said opposed rollers which includes:
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
61 words
passages in said rollers in communication with said vacuum outlets; D. a vacuum pump in communication with said passages; E. means for rotating said rollers to wrap the lateral edges of said web around said roller to form a hollow cylindrical roll between said rollers; F. a plunger disposed above said hollow cylindrical roll midway between said opposed rollers which includes:
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
92 words
said plunger, when extended pushing said blade across the middle of said roll to bend it in the middle and push it downwardly; G. a pair of driven creasing rollers below said roll and disposed so that their long axes are parallel to the long axis of said blade and which are designed to grab the leading edge of said bent cylindrical roll at the point of the bend in creasing engagement and to flatten both halves of said cylindrical roll together and drive same through said rollers to complete the fold.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
92 words
said plunger, when extended pushing said blade across the middle of said roll to bend it in the middle and push it downwardly; G. a pair of driven creasing rollers below said roll and disposed so that their long axes are parallel to the long axis of said blade and which are designed to grab the leading edge of said bent cylindrical roll at the point of the bend in creasing engagement and to flatten both halves of said cylindrical roll together and drive same through said rollers to complete the fold.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 1, the further combination therewith of: A. tensioning means for maintaining tension on said web as it wraps multiple layers around said rollers.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 2, in which the web is a tube of plastic material and the tensioning means is a bag forming apparatus, which includes a severing member to sever the web and release the tension on said web.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 1, in which: A. said frame reciprocates toward and away from said web severing apparatus, B. the further combination therewith of means for reciprocating said frame in forward and backward strokes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 4, the further combination therewith of control means operative to correlate the severing of said web as the forward reciprocating stroke of said frame nears its end.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 1, the further combination theRewith of a brake to brake the rotation of said pickup rollers.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 6, the further combination therewith of a control means to actuate said brake an instant after the web is severed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
51 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 1, the further combination therewith of a vacuum cutoff valve and a control means to close said valve to cut off vacuum to said vacuum outlets of said rollers as said plunger is extended and said blade bends the middle of said roll.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
31 words
A material folding apparatus, as defined in claim 1, the further combination of fluid evacuation passages in said pickup rollers to allow air to escape as said blade strokes said roll.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of folding lengths of material which includes: A. feeding a web of material onto a pair of spaced and axially opposed pickup rollers; B. engaging the lateral edges of said web of material on said rollers and wrapping said web around said rollers to form a hollow cylindrical roll; C. bending said roll in half in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said rollers: D. disengaging the ends of said roll from said pickup rollers: E. pressing both halves of said cylindrical roll together so as to flatten the bent roll and flattening each half of said roll in creasing relation.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of folding lengths of material which includes: A. feeding a web of material onto a pair of spaced and axially opposed pickup rollers; B. engaging the lateral edges of said web of material on said rollers and wrapping said web around said rollers to form a hollow cylindrical roll; C. bending said roll in half in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said rollers: D. disengaging the ends of said roll from said pickup rollers: E. pressing both halves of said cylindrical roll together so as to flatten the bent roll and flattening each half of said roll in creasing relation.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 10, A. the further step of severing the material in proximity to said roll to separate it from said web.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 11, the further step of: A. braking the pickup rollers to a stop an instant after said web is severed.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
59 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 10, A. the step of maintaining tension on said web as successive layers of said material are wrapped on said rollers; and B. the further step of severing the material in proximity to said roll to separate it from said web, and to release tension on said roll.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 10, in which the step of wrapping said web around said pickup rollers includes: A. rotatively driving said pickup rollers.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
61 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 10, which comprises the steps of: A. applying vacuum to the peripheral surface of said pickup rollers so as to engage the lateral edges of said web in gripping relation; B. releasing the vacuum simultaneously with bending of said roll so as to release the roll from said pickup rollers.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
85 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 10, in which the steps of bending said roll include: A. striking the roll transversely at about its midpoint with a blunt edged blade and pushing it downwardly; B. engaging the leading edge of said roll at the point of the bend with creasing rollers; and C. driving the material through said rollers so as to press the halves of the roll together and to flatten each half of the roll in creasing relation.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 16, A. the improvement of evacuating air from the middle of said roll as the blunt edge blade strikes the midpoint of said roll.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of folding lengths of material, as defined in claim 10, A. the further step of evacuating air from the middle of said roll as the roll is bent and as the halves of said roll are flattened.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-01-16 | 1976-07-17 | 1977-01-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-01-16 | 1980-07-17 | 1981-01-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-01-16 | 1984-07-17 | 1985-01-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |