AN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING THE UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION OF A COHESIONLESS SUBSTANCE CONTAINED WITHIN A BAG

Abstract: In order to bring about the uniform distribution of a cohesionless substance within a filter bag (2) presenting a useful internal volume of variable geometry compassed between a bottom end (3) and a closured top (4), use is made of an apparatus (1) comprising a rotor (5) with pockets (6), each able to accommodate one bag (2), of which the surface (7) offered to the bag is disposed essentially tangential to the rotor (5) and delimited by transversely disposed walls (8). Each time the rotor (5) indexes from a positionin which a bag (2) is transferred to the pocket (6) toward a position in which the bag (2) is ejected from the pocket, the closured top (4) locates against the corresponding transverse wall (8) as the rotor (5) comes to a stop, with the result that the contents of the bag (2) are forced to shift away from the bottom (3) and toward the closured top (4).

Description: Description An apparatus for obtaining the uniform distribution of a cohesionless substance contained within a bag Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus by means of which to obtain the uniform distribution of a cohesionless substance contained within a bag presenting a useful internal volume of variable geometry compassed between a bottom end and a closured top end. Such an apparatus is especially of service in machines for the manufacture of filter bags containing a substance with which to prepare an infusion, typically tea or herbal powders, and in particular, bags with a closure fashioned in such a way as to avoid glued or heat-sealed parts dictating the presence of a layer of adhesive that could occasion the migration of undesirable elements when the bag is immersed in a hot liquid to prepare the infusion. Background Art Because bags of the type in question exhibit an overall shape of essentially non-homogeneous character, however, the substance encounters resistances to free flow internally of the useful internal volume of the bag that will vary from one part of the bag to another, causing localized accumulations of the substance which tend to favour certain areas at the expense of other more inaccessible areas. It follows from the foregoing that the dimensions of a filter bag filled with cohesionless substances of the type in question will appear enlarged in certain typical areas, and that a finished pack can therefore be unreasonably penalized in terms of size: this is especially true in the conventional double folded type of bag, since the effects of a non-uniform distribution are produced twice over. This drawback reflects just one aspect of the problems affecting industrial manufacture generally, not the least of which is the current need to bring about increasingly severe reductions in the quantity of materials used for packaging and wrapping consumer products, to the end of limiting thei* impact on the environment and saving the energy resources employed in disposing of such materials as waste. Notwithstanding machines of more recent embodiment have been designed to perform operations such as will enable the infusionable substance to distribute itself in as uniform a manner as possible internally of the bags, a certain degree of irregularity in distribution is inevitable and will be the more evident especially when bags are assembled and packaged in significant number, so that the dimensions of the finished packs tend still to be somewhat considerable. The object of the invention, of which the characterizing features are recited in the appended claims, is to overcome the drawbacks in question by providing an apparatus such as will bring about the uniform distribution of a cohesionless substance contained internally of a bag presenting a useful internal volume of variable geometry. Disclosure of the Invention The stated object is realized in an apparatus comprising a rotor that affords at least one pocket, proportioned to accommodate a single bag, of which the surface supporting the bag is disposed substantially tangential to the rotor and delimited by transversely disposed walls. The rotor can be indexed through a given angular distance from a position in which a bag is transferred into the pocket to a knockout position in which the bag is ejected from the pocket, in such a way that the closured top of the bag locates against the corresponding transverse wall as the movement of the rotor is interrupted at the latter position, and the substance within the bag is caused forcibly to shift from the bottom toward the closured top. The apparatus according to the invention is therefore able to overcome the problem inherent in obtaining a uniform distribution of the substance within the bag, this being a fundamental prerequisite if the dimensions of finished packs are to be contained. In practice, the solution disclosed offers the facility of controlling the movement of the rotor in such a way that the substance will be subjected to forces of inertia of an intensity best able to bring about the uniform distribution internally of the bag, bearing in mind both its intrinsic flow characteristics, of which the thermal and hygrometric parameters may vary from batch to batch, and the effective geometry of the bags during manufacture. A further advantage of the invention is discernible in the possibility of achieving a synergical combination with production machines of conventional type, or with a machine as disclosed in Italian patent application B095A 000148. Indeed by positioning the apparatus disclosed between an outfeed station of the machine and a station at which the finished bags are assembled for wrapping, it becomes possible to control the uniform distribution of the substance within each bag even more accurately. The arrangement of the apparatus and the machine one in relation to the other as described above will also allow the inclusion of a reject station, located along the path of the rotor at a point between the transfer and knockout positions, from which to discard substandard bags. Accordingly, if a bag is found to be defective, having been identified as such by detection sensors with which the production machine will normally be equipped throughout, it can be eliminated as the rotor pauses at the reject station. The advantage afforded by such an arrangement is yet more evident when considering that in a conventional machine such as that disclosed in DE 1 001 944, the detection of one defective bag results in the need to reject the entire pack of which the substandard bag forms a part. The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the single accompanying drawing: a schematic elevation that illustrates the apparatus according to the invention in association with a manufacturing machine, indicated only in part. With reference to the accompanying drawing, the present invention consists substantially in an apparatus 1 designed to bring about the uniform distribution of a cohesionless substance contained in a bag 2 of which the useful internal volume, compassed between the bottom 3 and a closured top 4, is of variable geometry. The apparatus 1 is associated with a machine 12 for the manufacture of filter bags 2 containing a product with which to prepare an infusion, and occupies a position between an outfeed station 11, at which the bags 2 are removed singly from the machine 12 by a conventional gripper mechanism 22, and an assembly station 13 at which the same single bags 2 are stacked and thus ordered into a pack 19. More exactly, and as discernible from the accompanying drawing, the apparatus 1 substantially comprises a rotor 5 affording a plurality of pockets 6 each proportioned to admit a single bag 2, which are spaced apart one from the next by an angular distance that corresponds to one full revolution divided by the number of pockets: in the example illustrated, the pockets 6 are four in number and therefore spaced apart at 90° one from another. Each pocket 6 affords a surface 7 on which the bag 2 is supported, disposed essentially tangential to the rotor 5 and delimited by transversely disposed and substantially radial walls 8. The rotor 5 can be driven intermittently in rotation and is able thus to index through steps of 90° from a position at which a bag 2 is transferred into a relative pocket 6 by the action of the gripper 22, to a knockout position, separated from the transfer position preferably by an angle of 180°, at which the bag 2 is distanced from the pocket 6 and directed toward the assembly station 13. By reason of the fact that the rotor 5 is set in motion intermittently, it happens that on arrival at the knockout position the bag 2 is thrown forward by the arresting action, with the result that the closured top 4 locates against the corresponding transverse wall 8 of the relative pocket 6 and the contents are caused forcibly to shift inside the bag 2 through the effect of inertia, redistributing away from the bottom 3 and toward the closured top 4, hence toward the end of the bag that the substance would normally find less easy to fill. It will be noted also that in passing from the transfer position to the knockout position the filter bag 2 moves from an initial orientation to an exactly opposite orientation. In a preferred solution, the relative positioning of the outfeed station 11, the apparatus 1 and the assembly station 13 will be such that on reaching the knockout position, the single bag 2 is disposed with the closured top 4 directed downwards. Accordingly, the force of inertia generated by the tangential acceleration of the rotor 5 is compounded by the force of gravity, favouring a more penetrative flow of the substance toward the top 4 and in effect a successful distribution of the substance within the bag. As illustrated in the drawing, the machine 12 further comprises means 15, 16 and 17 by which to place each filter bag 2 in the pocket 6 of the rotor 5 currently occupying the transfer position. In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, the placing means comprise a fixed tubular duct 15 oriented substantially in a radial direction, relative to the rotor 5, and disposed in such a way as to enable its association with the different pockets 6 during the indexing movement of the rotor as these are brought one by one into the position at which the bags 2 are transferred. The duct 15 affords a rigid guidance wall 16 against which the closured top 4 of the transferred bag 2 is caused to strike when released during the swinging movement of the gripper 22, with the result that the contents begin moving toward the top 4 even before the bag 2 has come fully into contact with the rotor 5. Advantageously, the placing means further comprise a compactor 17 such as can be associated with the duct 15 and caused to alternate between an inactive position, occupied when a single filter bag 2 is admitted to the duct 15, and an active position in which pressure is applied to flatten the bag 2 against the pocket 6 of the rotor 5. Also forming a part of the apparatus 1 are ejection means 9, 10 by which each bag 2 is removed forcibly from the relative pocket 6 of the rotor 5 at the knockout position. In the example illustrated, such ejection means comprise actuator elements 10 designed to associate with the pocket 6 and capable of movement from an inactive position, concealed behind the surface 7 that supports the bag 2, to an active position inserted through and projecting from the supporting surface 7 in such a way that the bag 2 is pushed clear of the pocket 6. The apparatus comprises just one set of ejection means 9 and 10 serving all the pockets 6 of the rotor 5 and, with a rotor 5 of tubular embodiment, will be accommodated within the hollow bore 21 in such a way as to interact with each of the pockets in turn as these are brought into the knockout position, passing through special interconnecting holes 24 afforded by the wall of the rotor 5. The function of the assembly station 13 (which requires no further description, being conventional in embodiment) is to keep the pack 19 of bags 2 tightly compacted as formation proceeds. To advantage, the apparatus 1 is associated with the machine 12 in such a way as to allow of including a reject station 14 from which any defective bags 2 may be discarded. In this instance, the reject station 14 is located between the outfeed station 11 and the assembly station 13 in such a way as to exploit the pause punctuating the movement of each pocket 6 from the one station to the other. If, at the same time as the rotor 5 moves between the transfer position and the knockout position, a signal is received from sensors in the machine 12 indicating the arrival of a substandard bag 2, then the pause at the reject station 14 can be utilized to bring about the elimination of the defective bag 2.

Claims: Claims 1) An apparatus for obtaining the uniform distribution of a cohesionless substance contained within a bag (2) presenting a useful internal volume of variable geometry compassed between a bottom end (3) and a closured top (4), wherein the apparatus (1) comprises a rotor (5) embodied with at least one pocket (6) designed to accommodate one bag (2), of which the supporting surface (7) offered to the bag is disposed substantially tangential to the rotor (5) and delimited by transversely disposed walls (8) in such a manner that when the rotor (5) is caused to rotate intermittently through a predetermined angular distance from a transfer position in which a bag (2) enters the pocket (6) to a knockout position in which the selfsame bag is ejected from the pocket, the closured top (4) of the bag locates against the corresponding transverse wall (8) as the movement of the rotor (5) is interrupted at the knockout position with the result that the substance is forced to shift internally of the bag (2), and redistributed away from the bottom (3) toward the closured top (4) . 2) An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the rotor (5) affords a plurality of sockets (6) separated one from another by equal angular divisions of one full revolution. 3) An apparatus as in claim 1 or 2, comprising means (9, 10) by which the bag (2) is ejected forcibly from the pocket (6) of the rotor (5). 4) An apparatus as in claim 3, wherein the rotor (5) is of tubular embodiment. 5) An apparatus as in claim 3 or 4, wherein ejection means comprise actuator elements (10) designed to associate with the pocket (6) and capable of movement between an inactive position, concealed behind the supporting surface (7) offered to the bag (2), and an active position inserted through and projecting from the supporting surface (7) in such a way that the bag (2) is distanced from the pocket (6) . 6) An apparatus as in claim 3 or 5, wherein the rotor is equipped with a single set of ejection means (9, 10) serving as many pockets (6) as are afforded by the rotor (5) . 7) An apparatus as in claim 3, 5 or 6, wherein the ejection means (9, 10) are accommodated internally of the rotor (5) and caused to interact with the pocket (6) by insertion through interconnecting holes (24) created in the rotor (5) . 8) A machine for the manufacture of filter bags (2) containing a substance with which to prepare an infusion, comprising an apparatus (1) as in any preceding claim. 9) A machine as in claim 8, comprising means (15, 16, 17) by which to place a filter bag (2) in the pocket (6) of the rotor (5) currently occupying the transfer position. 10) A machine as in claim 8, comprising an outfeed station (11) at which filter bags (2) are removed from the machine (12) and a station (13) at which the bags (2) are assembled, wherein the apparatus (1) is located between the outfeed station (11) and the assembly station (13) in such a way that successive bags (2) can be taken up singly and conveyed to the assembly station (13). 11) A machine as in claim 9, wherein placing means comprise a fixed tubular duct (15) oriented substantially in a radial direction relative to the rotor (5), disposed in such a way as to enable its association with the pocket (6) in the position at which bags (2) are transferred, and affording a rigid guidance wall (16) against which the closured top (4) of the transferred bag (2) is caused to strike in such a way that the contents of the bag are caused to shift from the bottom (3) toward the closured top (4). 12) A machine as in claim 10, comprising a reject station (14) at which to discard defective filter bags (2), wherein the reject station (14) is located between the outfeed station (11) and the assembly station (13), and the rotor (5) of the apparatus (1) is made to pause at the intermediate reject station (14) when moving between the positions at which bags (2) are respectively transferred to and ejected from the pocket (6), in order to allow the elimination of a defective bag (2). 13) A machine as in claim 10, wherein the arrangement of the outfeed station (11), the apparatus (1) and the assembly station (13) is such that on reaching the knockout position, the filter bag (2) will be disposed with the closured top (4) substantially directed downwards. 14) A machine as in claim 11, wherein the placing means comprise a compactor (17) capable of association with the duct (15) and of movement between an inactive position, occupied when a filter bag (2) is admitted to the duct (15), and an active position in which pressure is applied by the selfsame compactor (17) to flatten the bag (2) against the pocket (6) of the rotor (5).

Inventors: ROMAGNOLI ANDREA, ROMAGNOLI, ANDREA
Applicants: IMA SPA, ROMAGNOLI ANDREA, I.M.A. INDUSTRIA MACCHINE AUTOMATICHE S.P.A., ROMAGNOLI, ANDREA
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65B61
IPC codes: B65B61