A DEVICE FOR MANUALLY PREPARING SMALL BAGS WITH OPEN SPREAD VEILS, CONTAINING SUGARED ALMONDS

Abstract: A device for manually preparing small container bags for sugared almonds, widely spread in separate volutes of tulle veils (L), due tu the presence of a plurality of separating discs (6) preferably transparent, with central holes (8), through which the veil-pushing piston (9) with basculating axis (10), out of one piece with the working plane, forms the housing of the sugared almonds, being closed by a small ribbon in correspon­ dence to the squeezing area of the veils, determined by a lever mechanism (14) placed above said container (11) provided with holes.

Description: The present invention concerns a device for making small bags containing sugared almonds, made of several layers of veil of tulle or similar material with open ends wide spread and its folds variously placed. It is already known that the small sugared almonds' bags, prepared for marriages, baptisms, firs communions, confirmations and similar, must show, for being appreciated by the customers, a structure with the upper ends of the veils being extremely wide-spread, so as to symbolize the open corolla of a luxuriant flower. Said small bags have always been manually prepared, requiring a long work time - at least 5 to 6 minutes for each piece - particularly due to the necessary end operation of spreading of the tulle. Recently a semi-automatic electrically-fed machine has been realized for preparing said small bags, provided with a pedal operated winding machine for providing a twisted thread that will be applied to close said small bags. Said machine comprises a lower disc with a central hole that receives the number of veils containing the sugared almonds and also having an approximately radial opening for the passing of said twisted thread for wutting with an appropriate tool out of one piece with the working plane. Said above mentioned semi-automatic machine shows the following disadvantages: the closing of said small bags is performed with the above mentioned thread and therefore must be completed by the addition of a coloured ribbon that proves to be essential, according to the customers' tastes, with the additional cost of said thread and further working time. Each small bag, coming out of said machiine, has all tulle veils in overlaying volutes along coincident curves, so as to require a furtherlong manual operation of spreading of the same, bringing the total working time to the same as that of a complete manual realization. The costs are raised because of the electric energy and by the twisted thread, the use thereof being obviously not necessary. It is the aim of the present invention to realize a cheap, high-efficiency device for the manual operation of small bags and automatic spreading of the veils. The aim set forth is reached by means of the device according to the present invention, as defined by the claims. The considerable advantages of the device according to the present invention are the following: very short times, about 20 to 40 seconds, for the preparation of each complete small bag; a total spreading of the veils with different volutes, without the need of any additional manual operation; elimination of the electrical feeding; elimination of additional elements, like twisted threads and similar. The present invention will be described in more detail hereinbelow according to the drawing showing a preferred embodiment thereof. Figure 1, shows a scheme, in axonometric view, of the complete device in open position. Figure 2, shows an axonometric view of the device in working position. Figure 3, shows in particular an exploded view of elements of the veil squeezing mechanism. Figures 4 and 5 respectively show a small bag prepared with not yet opened veils (showing the need of a further manual intervention), and a wide spread small bag as it leaves the device according to the present invention. The device comprises a lower disc 1 with a central hole 2 on which an upper disc 3 with a corresponding hole 4 is placed movable around a hinge 5, between which multiple discs 6, hinged in 7 to the working plane, and also provided with a central hole 8, are placed for separately holding the various tulle veils L that are manually placed by the operator between said discs. The forming of the housing for the sugared almonds is performed by vertically pressing a veil-pushing piston 9 rotatable around axis 10 to be coaxial to the hole 4 of said upper disc 3. A squeezing operation performed by the operator by means of a simple angular movement of a lever 14 (see the arrow in figure 1) will allow a knot on a part of a coloured ribbon to be realized, placed at the beginning between said discs, so as to obtain a small bag prepared with all wide-spread veils. Infact, when said piston 9 vertically moves through said holes 4, 8 and 2, all central portions of the veils L placed between said multiple discs 6 are transformed into the container portion of a small bag, getting down into a hollow cylinder 11, placed below said lower disc 1. At the same time they slide between said separating discs 6, and each of said veils L is placed in folds which, obviously, are not corresponding to the folds of the other veils so that, when the small bag is extracted, all the volutes form an extremely spread corolla as shown in figure 5. The mechanism for squeezing the veils shown in figure 3 comprises counterposed blades 12, housed between said disc 1 and a further lower disc 13, provided with an outwardly turned lever 14 an with a plurality of spirally extending eyelets 15 in different positions and angles according to the needs, for the housing of bushings of ball bearings. Upon angular movement of lever 14 a linear sliding, one against the other, of said blades 12 is achieved, the semicircular inner ends thereof forming, one laid one on the other, a circular hole of small diameter squeezing the bag around which a coloured ribbon, provided between the discs 1 and 3, can close the bag. The realization of the housing for the sugared almonds is thus determined, according to the present invention, by the vertical penetration, performed by the operator, of piston 9 through holes 4, 8 and 2 up to an anular stop 16 provided on the bottom of the container 11, so that the veils L are pushed into the hole while sliding on the upper portions thereof between said discs 6, which causes the forming of the volutes with separate folds. A return spring 17 lifts the piston 9 at the end of the pressure stress to its resting position. A central hole 18, which is formed by the anular stop 16 on the bottom of the container 11, allows a rod provided by the operator in holes 4, 8 and 2, to penetrate through the veils L so as to allow the realization of the small sugared almonds' bag around said rod at an average height for particular requests.

Claims: A device for making small bags containing sugared almonds, made of layers of veil with spread open ends, comprising a lower disc (1) with a central hole (2), onto which an upper disc (3) with a corresponding hole (4) is resting movable around a hinge (5), characterized by a plurality of intermediate discs (6) hinged to the working plane and also provided each with a central hole (8) being placed between said discs (1) and (3), said intermediate discs (6) being provided for separately holding the various veils (L) being manually placed by the operator between said discs (6), and a means (9)for forming the housing for the sugared almonds, being connected to the working plane, and furthermore means (12) for squeezing the veils (L) for the further application of a closing ribbon. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for forming the housing of the sugared almonds consists of a piston (9) connected to a basculating axis (10) connected to the working plane, and provided with a return spring (17), which piston (9) can penetrate said holes (4), (8) and (2) down to a stop (16) on the bottom of a container (11) provided under the lower disc (1). The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for squeezing the veils (L) comprises two counterposed blades (12) housed between said lower disc (1) and a further lower disc (13) provided with a radially extending lever (14) and with a plurality of spirally extending eyelets (15) for the housing of bushings and ball bearings, thereby causing by the angular movement of said lever (14) the linear sliding, one against the other, of said blades (12), the semicircular inner ends thereof forming, once laid one on the other, a circular hole of small diameter squeezing the bag, around which a ribbon, provided between the discs (1) and (3) can close the bag. The device according to claim 1, wherein a central hole (18) is formed by the anular stop (16) on the bottom of container (11), into which a rod provided by the operator in the holes (4), (8) and (2) may penetrate through the veils (L).

Inventors: MERCURI, CARLO
Applicants: MERCURI, CARLO
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B65B67
IPC codes: B65B67