Close fitting article packaging system

Claim 1

In an apparatus for continually sequentially blow opening and filling flattened flexible arc lipped packaging bags from a stacked supply of bags held by a wicket having legs extending clear of the upper plies of the bags through hOles in the lower plies of the bags, a bag edge restraining element bearing vertically on the upper surface of the lower ply of the topmost bag of the stacked supply of bags, a horizontal center portion arranged to transmit vertical force to said edge restraining element, and an upwardly extending shoulder between each wicket leg and said center portion, the improvement of a close product fitting bag filling guide attachment comprising, in combination, a guide shoe having an undersurface and an over surface both contoured generally to conform to the upper surface of an article being packaged, and having a leading edge and a trailing edge; a guide shoe suspension rod having an upper end, and a lower end connecting to the oversurface of the guide shoe in a manner to dispose the leading edge of the guide shoe at an elevation lower than the trailing edge thereof when said suspension rod is vertically pendant; hanger means connected to the suspension rod adjacent the upper end thereof, horizontally pivoted to swing in a vertical plane extending longitudinally centrally of the stacked supply of bags from an initial position in which the suspension rod is substantially vertical and the leading edge of the guide shoe is out of engagement with a blown open bag atop the stacked supply of bags, towards and into a final position in which the lower end of the suspension rod has progressed through an upward arcuate locus, the leading edge oversurface of the guide shoe is in engaement with the underside of the upper ply of said blown open bag, and said blown open bag is held in stretched expansion between the guide shoe and the wicket sholders; resilient means biasing the hanger means against movement from said initial position towards said final position; at least one protrusion extending upwardly from the oversurface of the guide shoe adjacent the leading edge thereof disposed to engage the open edge of the upper ply of the blown open bag and to advance the lower ply of said bag from under the bag edge restraining element of the wicket in the course of the movement of the hanger means from said initial position towards said final position; and a mounting bracket supporting the hanger means on said apparatus.

Claim 8

A method for continually sequentially filling blown open bags witH closely fitting products, one at a time, from a stack of flattened flexible bags held on a wicket which has legs extending clear of the upper plies of the bags through holes in the lower plies of the bags, a bag edge restraining element bearing vertically on the upper surface of the lower ply of a bag atop the stacked supply of bags, a horizontal center portion disposed to transmit bag restraining vertical force to said bag edge restraining element, and an upwardly extending shoulder between each wicket leg and said center portion, which method includes the steps of applying a distributed area force to the undersurface of the upper ply of a blown open wicket held bag, directing said force upwardly and in a direction of product advance into the bag until the bag lower ply is removed from under the edge restraining element, up into the wicket shoulders and held in an intermediate stretched expansion between the force application area and the wicket while concurrently advancing a product towards the blown open bag, continuing the application and direction of said force until the blown open bag is held in an ultimate stretched expansion between the force application area and the wicket while concurrently advancing the product into the blown open stretched bag, advancing the product completely into the bag, removing the force, and tear removing the filled bag from the wicket.

Claim 9

A method for continually sequentially filling blown open bags witH closely fitting products, one at a time, from a stack of flattened flexible bags held on a wicket which has legs extending clear of the upper plies of the bags through holes in the lower plies of the bags, a bag edge restraining element bearing vertically on the upper surface of the lower ply of a bag atop the stacked supply of bags, a horizontal center portion disposed to transmit bag restraining vertical force to said bag edge restraining element, and an upwardly extending shoulder between each wicket leg and said center portion, which method includes the steps of applying a distributed area force to the undersurface of the upper ply of a blown open wicket held bag, directing said force upwardly and in a direction of product advance into the bag until the bag lower ply is removed from under the edge restraining element, up into the wicket shoulders and held in an intermediate stretched expansion between the force application area and the wicket while concurrently advancing a product towards the blown open bag, continuing the application and direction of said force until the blown open bag is held in an ultimate stretched expansion between the force application area and the wicket while concurrently advancing the product into the blown open stretched bag, advancing the product completely into the bag, removing the force, and tear removing the filled bag from the wicket.