Patent ID: 6119441
Filing Date: 2000-09-19
Classification: B65B

Abstract:
An automatic bagging machine comprising article discharge means for releasing one or more articles in an open top end of a plastic bag held at a bag filling station by displaceable clamp means within said bag, there being a plurality of bags conveyed by said machine and disposed side-by-side and depending from continuous top band portions, each bag having opposed side walls with one of said top band portions at a top end of a respective side wall, opposed vertical sealed edges extending from a sealed bottom edge of said bag and terminating at a lower edge of said top band portions, said displaceable clamp means having two clamping assemblies and clamp displacing mechanisms for moving said clamping assemblies and for moving clamping assemblies within said bag held at the bag filling station along an angled path from a first position to a second position outward and downstream of the first position to permit filling of said bag, bag advancing means synchronized with said clamp displacing mechanisms for causing a predetermined length of said plurality of bags to advance to said bag filling station to permit said bag at said bag filling station to be opened by said two clamping assemblies, and bag discharge means for displacing a filled bag from said filling station to a discharge station where said filled bag is disconnected from said continuous top band portions and released and to simultaneously advance a bag to said bag filling station, said bag discharge means also drawing a next bag of said plurality of bags to said bag filling station.