Apparatus for compressing and packaging stacks of flattened juxtaposed bags or like sheet articles

Claim 1

Apparatus for compressing and packaging a stack of flattened bags or the like, comprising a compression chamber for receiving the stack, an opening in the bottom of said chamber through which the said stack can be inserted, a plunger for introducing the stack in said chamber through said bottom opening and compressing it against a backing member of said chamber, said plunger being mounted for reciprocal movement in the substantially vertical direction, means for disposing packaging sheets across said opening so that they are carried into the said chamber by said stack as said stack is introduced, at least one folding device disposed at generally the same level as said plunger is located at the end of its compression stroke and being moveable to close said sheets about the stack, and means for joining the sheet ends to form a packaging sleeve about the stack, said folding device being mounted for reciprocal movement across substantially the entire bottom opening of said compression chamber transversely to the direction of reciprocation of said plunger, said backing member being moveable in a direction away from the compressed stack, said compression chamber having a side opening through which the stack can be discharged, said folding device being moveable away from the bottom opening in said compression chamber after said backing member has been moved away from said compressed stack to discharge the stack through said side opening.