Abstract:
The present invention relates to a simplified mechanism for feeding and advancing popcorn bags or other receptacles for use in food or consumable filling applications, such as microwave popcorn to downstream processing stations. More specifically, the present invention includes the provision of a vacuum to draw a bag into operative association with a moving belt in order to advance the bags from a stack or supply.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    None.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a simplified mechanism for feeding and advancing popcorn bags or other receptacles for use in food or consumable filling applications, such as microwave popcorn, to downstream processing stations. More specifically, the present invention includes the provision of a vacuum to draw a bag into operative association with a moving belt in order to advance the bags from a stack or supply.  
           [0003]    Currently, a number of complicated and expensive feeder devices are used to move popcorn bags from a magazine or supply hopper to the filling, folding and other processing stations. Typically, such devices use mechanical arms, pickers, suction cups and other associated equipment to affect the transfer of the bag from the supply to the filling and processing stations. However, difficulties may arise in the timing of the movement of such mechanical arms or picks such that the cycling of the apparatus can become offset from the speed requirements of the filling or processing operations. In addition to the movement of the mechanical arms, the suction cups may not adequately grasp the bag from the stack causing the filling or folding apparatus to miss a sequence. This can cause product that was intended to be delivered into a bag to be inadvertently dumped or dropped on the filling apparatus or on the floor.  
           [0004]    Such complex mechanical devices may suffer from a very simple problem and inadvertently remove more than one bag at a time from the stack due to bags clinging together because of static forces, or sticking due to exposed adhesive or ink that did not set or dry prior to putting the bags into a stack. In addition, with the many moving parts of such a system, more maintenance and sequencing of the equipment is usually required.  
           [0005]    In addition to the problem associated with picker arms, the magazine which supplies the stack of popcorn bags may not sufficiently advance the supply of bags so that the picker arm reaches the bag, again causing timing delays and other problems identified above due to missed sequencing of the picker arms and bag supply. When a bag is not delivered to the necessary location, spillage can occur and this not only causes waste of the product but also delay in having to stop to clean up the spill. In addition, popcorn kernels or oil which are typically used in filling the bags can contaminate the apparatus causing additional mechanical problems or difficulties. Examples of such prior art systems are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,372, 5,463,845 and 5,507,132.  
           [0006]    Another prior art solution is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,688, which describes a vending machine in which popped popcorn is dispensed in bags. Here, a predetermined charge of the unpopped popcorn is placed in a bag and then the filled bags are placed in a stack. A plunger is used to knock the bags from the stack into the cooking area. Unfilled bags would not have sufficient rigidity to withstand the impact or pushing forces associated with a plunger device and as such, would likely not advance the bags to the processing line.  
           [0007]    What is needed therefore is a simplified, efficient and reliable system for delivering a supply of unfilled popcorn bags to a filling process that overcomes the foregoing problems.  
           [0008]    Publications, patents and patent applications are referred to throughout this disclosure. All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The invention is now illustrated by reference to the following embodiments which are not intended to be limiting in scope but only to be representative of the invention.  
           [0010]    A bag feeding device is described and includes a supply of bags that are supported and held in position by a stop. At least a first belt is provided and disposed adjacent to the supply of bags. The belt is capable of moving in order to advance at least one bag from the supply. There is at least a first vacuum source applied to the supply of bags to move at least one bag from the bag supply to a first position. An indicator or sensor is also provided to determine the position of the bag. In operation, the vacuum source moves at least one bag into operative association with the first belt and the indicator or sensor detects whether the one bag that has been moved from the supply in to the first position.  
           [0011]    A further embodiment of the present invention describes a method of advancing a bag for a food processing line that includes the steps of initially providing a supply of bags for use in the processing line. The supply of bags is held in position by a stop. The bag is moved from the supply by the activation of a vacuum that pulls a bag from the supply. Next, the bag is advanced from the supply to a first position. The bag is sensed in the first position. A belt is used to move the bag from the first position to a second position. The bag is sensed in the second position to determine if the bag has been supplied to the processing line.  
           [0012]    In a still further embodiment of the present invention a system for supplying popcorn bags to a processing line is described and comprises, a supply of popcorn bags held in position by a stop. A first belt disposed adjacent the supply of popcorn bags the first belt is moveable in a first direction to move bags from the supply. A second belt is disposed adjacent the supply of popcorn bags, the second belt is moveable in the same or first direction as the first belt, and the second belt is positioned in front of the first belt. A first vacuum source is disposed beneath the second belt and is adjacent a leading edge of the supply of popcorn bags. A second vacuum source is disposed beneath the second belt and is positioned in front of the first vacuum source. The first and second belts in cooperation with the first and second vacuum sources moves a bag from the supply of popcorn bags from a first position partially within an area covered by the supply of popcorn bags to a second position outside the area covered by the supply of popcorn bags so as to be able to pass the bag to the processing line.  
           [0013]    The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    These, as well as other objects and advantages of this invention, will be more completely understood and appreciated by referring to the following more detailed description of the presently preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 depicts a side view of the bag feeder;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the bag feeder illustrating the advancement of a bag from the stack or supply;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the apparatus showing the further advancement of the bag from the stack or supply;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 provides a depiction of the underside of the apparatus showing the perforated belts; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 represents a flow chart of the operation of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    The present invention is directed to a feeding mechanism for supplying popcorn bags to a filling or feeding location. The embodiments of the present invention described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present invention. For example, while the popcorn bags of the present invention are suitable for use with microwave popcorn products, the invention is not to be so limited and the invention could be used with other bag filling operations such as in the supply of bags for a ready to eat meals, food and snack products, toiletries and cosmetics and the like.  
         [0021]    Turning now to FIG. 1, the feeding apparatus is generally depicted at  10  and includes a stack or supply  12  of popcorn bags. The bag supply  12  has an adjustable bag stop  14  to hold the supply  12  of popcorn bags in position. Generally, the supply  12  is gravity fed, but a spring loaded feeder may also be used. In addition, the supply  12  may have a weighted cover placed on the top of the stack in order to bias the stack into position. The supply  12  may also be provided with walls, fingers or other guides to hold the stack of bags in position. The supply  12  has a leading edge and a trailing edge with the leading edge being in the direction the bags will travel after leaving the stack and the trailing edge being rearwardly thereof or on the edge of the supply opposite the leading edge.  
         [0022]    Facilitating the egress of the popcorn bags from the supply  12  are a pair of upper and lower guides  16  and  18  which are spaced sufficiently apart to permit only the width of one bag to pass through the opening between guides  16  and  18 . The width of the opening between the guides  16  and  18  can be adjusted as needed to accommodate different sizes of bags or articles to be supplied. For example, if the particular filling application requires two or more bags to be dispensed at any given time, the gap can be adjusted to permit the additional thickness to pass through. In the alternative, the present invention can be used to accommodate bags of different widths, such as popcorn bags intended to be a “single serving” size or a “family” size bag. In addition, one or both of the guides  16  and  18  may also be supplied with resilient guides or assists such as brushes, rubberized blades, felt pieces or the like to prevent more than the intended supply of bags to be supplied. The guides as well as the resilient assists overcome one of the problems identified above in that the guides prevent the dispensing of more than one bag at a time. In addition, the assists reduce static forces in the bags and can assist in identifying bags that are stuck together by other than static forces.  
         [0023]    The combination of the guides  16  and  18  as well as the resilient assists and the stop  14  serve to keep the remaining portion of the supply of bags  12  from moving when the apparatus has been actuated to advance a bag from the supply  12 .  
         [0024]    Individual bags are dispensed from the supply  12  via suction created by vacuum sources at  20  and  22 . At least one of the vacuum sources  20  and  22  is disposed beneath a belt  26 . The belt  26  is provided so as to be adjacent the supply  12  of bags but is disposed at least partially beneath the bag supply  12 . The belt  26  is driven in a clockwise manner through the use of one or more driven wheels  24  and  32 . The drive mechanism (not shown) may consist of a typical electric motor connected to one or both of the wheels  24  and  32  or the motive power may be provided or supplied through a connection to the feeding/filling line so as to allow for proper sequencing. The belt  26  is operatively engaged with at least the leading edge of the supply  12  of popcorn bags, and the leading edge of the belt  26  is located prior to the upper and lower guides  16  and  18 . A vacuum is created in each of the vacuum sources  20  and  22  through hoses  28  and  30 .  
         [0025]    The first vacuum source  20 , as shown in FIG. 1, has a length that is approximately 1.5 to 2.5 times as long as the length of the second vacuum source  22 . By providing an increased length, the first vacuum source  20  is able to grasp the bag from the supply  12  and move the bag from the first position to the second position ( 40  and  42  as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). The second vacuum source  22  is provided adjacent an edge of the bag supply  12 , that is the leading edge of the supply  12  or the direction in which the bags move from the supply  12  in the direction of the processing line. Vacuum  22  is position in this area so as to make a leading edge of a bag available for grasping by the combination of the belt  26  and the vacuum  22  in order to move the bag to a first position  40  as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0026]    A second drive means includes a belt  36 , which is moved via wheels  34  and  38 . The second drive means may be driven via a motor (not shown), or the wheels may be idler type rollers and are only activated due to the movement of the first drive belt  26 . The second drive belt  36  is disposed rearwardly from the first drive belt  26 . While as depicted in FIG. 1, the first belt  26  and the second belt  36  are disposed beneath or on the underside of the bag supply or stack  12 , it is to be understood that in certain applications the first and second belts  26  and  36  could be disposed on the side or top of the supply  12 , depending on the particular feeding configuration that is required. In addition, it should also be understood that the first and second belt  26  and  36  could be disposed on different surfaces of the supply  12 , for example one belt on the bottom and one on the side of the supply  12 .  
         [0027]    Turning now to FIG. 2, one bag  40  from the supply  12  is engaged by the vacuum source  22 . This vacuum source  22 , pulls the bag from the bottom of the supply  12  to operatively engage the bag with belts  36  and  26 . By operative engagement, the bag rests on the surface of the belts  26  and  36  and is held in position by the vacuum from one or more of the sources  20  and  22  until the bag is released. The vacuum created at source  22  reaches the bag surface through the use of perforations, holes, slots or other openings in the belts  26  and  36  as seen in FIG. 4. The vacuum pulls the bag  40  into a first position, which is distinct from the starting position at the bottom of the supply  12 .  
         [0028]    The bag  40  is now advanced to its first position either singularly through the operative use of belt  26  or cooperatively between belts  36  and  26 , which is the preferable embodiment. The first position  40  of the bag, and as is illustrated in FIG. 2 is still within the area covered by the bag supply  12 . That is, the bag while advancing from the first position to the second position moves from underneath the supply  12  of bags to outside the area of the supply of bags  12  so as to be completely free of the supply  12 . Both belts  26  and  36  move in a clockwise direction in order to advance the bag  40 . Belt  36  may or may not have perforations. In the event that belts  26  and  36  are separated from one another as shown in FIG. 2, a bridge  35  may be provided to prevent the bag  40  from drooping and being crumpled by the movement of the belts.  
         [0029]    Referring now to FIG. 3, the vacuum source  22  has released the suction and the vacuum source  20  is engaging the bag  42  through perforated belt  26  to advance the bag from the first position shown in FIG. 2 (bag illustrated at numeral  40 ) to the second position (bag illustrated as numeral  42 ). In the second position at  42 , the bag is capable of being grasped by an additional conveyor assembly or inserted into a carrier, car or shuttle (not shown) and then delivered to the first sequence in the filling or processing apparatus. The bag in its second position  42  is now out of the area covered by the supply  12  so that it can easily be passed to the processing line.  
         [0030]    Turning to FIG. 4, an illustration of belts  26  and  36  is provided and includes a depiction of the perforation of the belts to enable the vacuum from sources  20  and  22  to reach the bags and hold the bags in operative association with one or more of the belts. While belt  36  is shown having a solid configuration it may also have a perforated surface to permit the vacuum to reach the bag supply or to reduce surface or static cling to the belt  36 . In addition, the vacuum sources  20  and  22  are shown as separate or individual units. It is of course understood that the vacuum sources  20  and  22  may be single, continuous units running the width of the belts  26  and  36 . In addition, FIG. 4 also further shows that vacuum source  20  is longer than source  22  (length illustrated as  21  in FIG. 1) so as to be able to advance the bag from the first position  40  to the second position  42  as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 4 also provides a suggested placement for photoeyes, photosensors, solenoids, actuators or the like at  44  and  46 . The placement of the photosensors should be such that the sensors can detect whether there are bags in the supply  12 , such as with the position of eye  46  and the movement of the bag from the first position  40  to the second position  42  as is shown by the position of sensor  44 .  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 5 provides a flow chart illustrating operation of the present invention. The present invention is operated by a closed loop system detecting the presence or absence of a bag in the appropriate position. The system, through use of a sensor or other monitoring device, such as a inspection camera, mechanical actuator or the like, determines whether there is a bag in the supply  12  shown at step  100 . If there is no bag in the supply, an error signal is generated  110 , which indicates to the operator that the supply is currently empty. If the signal generated indicates that bags are in the supply  12 , then the system at step  120  actives one or more of the vacuum sources  20  and  22  and the bag is pulled from the bottom of the stack  12  and advanced to the first position  40  as shown in step  130 .  
         [0033]    The apparatus/system  10  then detects whether the bag  40  is in the first position at step  140 . If the bag has not reached the first position, the vacuum source  22  is activated and the system again attempts to pull and advance the bag to the first position  40 . If the bag is in the first position  40 , then vacuum source  20  is activated at step  150  and the other vacuum source  22  is temporarily turned off. Along with activation of vacuum source  20 , belt  26  is rotated in a clockwise movement to advance the bag to the second position  42 , as shown in FIG. 3 and depicted at step  160  in FIG. 5. If the bag is found to be in the second position  42 , step  170 , the vacuum  20  is turned off and the bag is advanced to the filling machine at step  180  and the system  10  is restarted to move the next bag from the supply  12  into position. If the bag is not detected at the second position, then the belt  26  is again restarted with the vacuum source  20  pulling the bag into operative association with the belt  26 . If the bag does not reach the second position  42  after one or more tries an alarm sounds indicating a jam or supply empty situation.  
         [0034]    In operation of the device, the apparatus  10  can run at about sixty cycles per minute, and in one example, twelve inch long bags were used. The speed of the device can be manipulated depending on the requirements of the filling station or the size or dimensions of the bag. While popcorn bags used in the present invention are generally quadrate in configuration, other geometric shapes may be supplied by using this invention. The adjustment needed to accommodate other bags may simply be one of adding additional guides to support the particular configuration or material to be handled.  
         [0035]    It will thus be seen according to the present invention a highly advantageous bag feeding device has been provided. While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, that many modifications and equivalent arrangements may be made thereof within the scope of the invention, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all equivalent structures and products.