APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING GOODS, ESPECIALLY A COMPRESSED STACK OF INSULATING MATS, IN A BAG OR A SACK

Abstract: In an apparatus for packaging especially a stack of compressed insulating mats (16) in a bag or a sack (6) and comprising a receiving mechanism with holders (3, 4) for catching and opening the bag mouth and a packaging beak (12) through which the material (16) is introduced into the bag, when said bag has been placed so as to surround the beak, the transfer of the opened bag takes place by means of a separate carrier consisting of a vertically reciprocating carriage or slide (7) having pivotable grippers (11) for spreading out and fastening the bag mouth by internal engagement therewith. The separate carrier renders possible an increase working speed, because a subsequent bag can be ready for filling immediately after the filling of a preceding bag.

Description: Apparatus for packaging goods, especially a compressed stack of insulating mats, in a bag or a sack. The present invention relates to an apparatus for packaging goods, especially a compressed stack of insulating mats, in a bag or a sack, and comprising a packaging beak through which the stack is led to the bottom of the bag, after the open end of said bag has been drawn on to " the beak around the free end thereof. Packaging of mineral wool -mats according to this principle has been used for a number of years in the following manner: the height of the stack is first subjected to a reduction of up to 50%, whereafter the stack is pressed forward through the packaging beak, after a prefabricated bag or sack has been manually drawn on to this beak so that it can receive the compressed stack without allowing it to expand again vertically to an appreciable extent. While continuing its forward displacement through the beak, said stack draws off the sack from the beak, whereafter the open * end of the sack can be closed by welding or lacing. This method as hitherto practised requires a substantial amount of personnel, as it presupposes three working stands manned with five persons each, when work is carried on continuously. The main object of the present invention is to pro¬ vide an apparatus allowing a radical reduction of the personnel required, and for this purpose the apparatus according to the invention is characterized, for one thing, by a mechanism disposed in front of the free end of the packaging beak and laterally displaced in relation thereto, for receiving flat-folded bags which are fed substantially parallel to the packaging beak, said mechanism comprising two holders for catching their respective side wall of the bag, which holders are movable away from each other for the opening of the bag, and for another thing, by a carrier movable between the receiving mechanism and the packaging beak and provided with grippers for removing the opened bag from the holders and transferring it to a position facing the packaging beak and for drawing " the bag on to said beak. With this apparatus, use is thus made of prefabri¬ cated bags or sacks which can, at a reasonable cost, be manufactured in such a quality that they can stand without breaking the very high inner pressure exerted by the strongly compressed stack, and a subsequent shrinkage is rendered unnecessary, although such shrinkage may possibly be envisaged in special cases. The desired personnel reduction results from the fact that the opening of the flat-folded bags as well as their placing on the packaging beak are carried out fully automatically and in such a way that the various operations do not interfere with each other. This is the reason why the opening of the bag takes place in a position which is laterally displaced in relation to the packaging beak, thereby allowing the reception and the opening of a bag to take place simultaneously with the filling of a preceding bag with a stack of -insulating mats passing through the packaging beak. Already while this bag is carried to the packaging beak, the next bag can be received and opened by the holders, and while the first bag is filled and afterwards is released from the packaging beak, the carrier can move back to the receiving mechanism and fetch the next bag or sack which is already opened. Further details of the apparatus according to the invention are explained in the following with reference to the drawing showing a simplified lateral view of an embodiment of this apparatus for packaging a stack of compressed insulating mats in a plastics bag. A flat-folded tubular foil 1 is drawn off from a stock (not shown) such as a roller, and after passing between a pair of welding and cutting jaws 2 it is led to a mechanism provided with two pairs of superposed •holders 3 and ' 4 provided with suction cups for catching the two opposite lateral walls of the tubular foil close to the front end of the foil. Afterwards the jaws 2 are actuated to produce a transverse welding seam 5 and the sack 6 thus manufactured is separated from the subsequent part of the tubular foil 1 and is opened by a down going , movement of the lower pair of holders 4, taking along the lower .lateral wall of the bag, to the position indicated by 4'. In front of the receiving mechanism with the holders 3 and 4, provision is made of a carrier in the form of a carriage or slide 7 which is vertically reciprocating by means of a chain drive 8 conveyed over upper and lower sprocket-wheels 9 and 10, of which the upper one can be driven as indicate by the marked double arrow. The carrier is provided with two sets of grippers 11 which from a position of rest shown with a dotted line can be pivoted into the open end of the sack 6 which is thereby spread out to form a rectangular mouth and is maintained by the grippers 11. when the partial vacuum applied to the ' suction cups belonging to the holders 3 and 4 is discontinued, the carrier 7, 11 is moved downward until the sack is positioned in front of a packaging beak 2, and immediately after the return of the lower holders to their starting position, the next plastics sack 6 can be prepared as explained above. The packaging beak 12 is provided with a support (not shown) having upper and lower endless bands 13 running in the directions indicated by arrows, the paths of which are determined by guiding and return rollers 14 and 15. The forwardly running, inner band portions converge, at any rate until €hey meet the guiding rollers 14 and possibly further to the return rollers 15 and they contribute thereby to a vertical compression of the stack of mineral wool mats 16 to be packaged. When the carrier 7, 11 with the open bag 6 has been positioned in front of the packaging beak 12 as explained above, a pneumatic cylinder 17 is actuated, whereby the lower sprocket wheel 10 of the chain drive 8 is moved forward parallel to the packaging beak 12 and thus leads the open end of the bag onto this beak. At the outer sides of the beak are placed rotating friction bands 18, e.g. brush bands, which run continuously in the directions indicated by arrows and can, by means of pneumatic drives 19, be moved toward the packaging beak and away therefrom. In the displaced position of the carrier, the friction bands 18 will, together with the external, back-running portions of the bands 13 of the packaging beak, catch the mouth of the bag 6 which is then released from the carrier by back swing of its grippers 11, wherea ter the bag is drawn or swept onto the beak and possibly wholly smoothed out along said beak. When the bag 6 has in this manner been transferred to the packaging beak 12, the carrier 7, 11 returns to the position shown in the drawing, and the foremost stack of mineral wool mats 16 in the beak 12 is pushed forward to abut againstrthe spread bottom of the bag 6 and further on so that the bag is drawn clear of the beak. The filled bag falls then down on a band conveyor 20 and when it has been entirely released from the beak 12 and removed therefrom, the next bag can be placed on the beak in the manned explained above.

Claims: P A T E N T C L A I M S 1. An apparatus for packaging goods, especially a compressed stack of insulating mats (16), in a bag or a sack (6), comprising a packaging beak (12) through which the stack is led to the bottom of the bag, after the open end of said bag has been drawn on to the beak around the free end thereof, characterized, for one thing, by a mechanism disposed in front of the free end of the packaging beak (12) and laterally displaced in relation thereto, for receiving flat-folded bags (6) which are fed substantially parallel to the packaging beak, said mechanism comprising two holders (3,4) for catching their respective side wall of the bag, which holders are movable away from each other for the opening of the bag, and for another thing, by a carrier (7) movable between the receiving mechanism and the packaging beak and provided with grippers (11) for removing the opened bag from the holders (3,4) and transferring the bag to a " position facing the packaging beak (12) and for drawing the bag on to said beak. 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the carrier has a reciprocating carriage or slide (7) with pivotable grippers (11) for spreading out and fastening the bag mouth by engagement with its inner side. 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the carriage or slide (7) in its position facing the packaging beak (12) is also movable toward said beak and away therefrom, and that the grippers (11) can be released from the bag (6) in the advanced position of the carriage or slide.

Inventors: JOHANSEN TAGE LUND
Applicants: JOHANSEN TAGE LUND, JORGENSEN ELEKTRO APS BRDR, BRDR JORGENSEN ELEKTRO APS
Application year: 1982
Main classification: B65B63
IPC codes: B65B43