Patent Abstract:
A baling bag is provided for automatic bale bag processing. The bag has front and back panels and adjoining left and right side panels and a closed bottom panel. An open top portion is defined by the front, back, left, and right panels at an end of the bag opposite the closed bottom panel. An aperture is provided in the bag proximate the top portion to permit the bag to be hung on an automatic bag extraction and loading mechanism.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention is related generally to bag loading and, more particularly, to a baling bag for use in automatic bag loading.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Automated processes for package loading are desirable since it decreases labor costs and increases production efficiency. For example, there are known techniques for automatically loading cartons of fruit, such as apples. As noted above, automatic loading of cartons of fruit reduces labor costs and thus the cost of the finished product. In addition, production efficiency is greatly increased by such automated processing.  
           [0005]    Despite the desirability of automated processing, not all processes have been automated. In one example, prepackaged bags of products, such as potatoes, are placed in a large shipping bag called a bale. In one example, a bale contains five individual 10 lb. bags of potatoes. Previous attempts to automate the bale loading process have been unsuccessful. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a baling bag for use in an automatic process for loading bales. The present invention provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention is embodied in a bale bag and method for manufacturing the same. The bag has elongated front and back panels and adjoining elongated left and right side panels. The bag has a closed bottom panel joining the front and back panels with the left and right panels and an open top portion. An aperture is provided proximate the top portion.  
           [0007]    In an exemplary embodiment, the aperture is located in the back panel of the bag and in a further exemplary embodiment may be located substantially midway between the left and right side panels.  
           [0008]    The aperture may be substantially circular in shape. Additional ventilation openings may be provided in the front and back panels if the baling bag is used with produce. A cutaway portion in the front panel proximate the top portion may be provided to expose the aperture.  
           [0009]    The bag may be sized in accordance with industry standards and, in an exemplary embodiment has a length of approximately 32 inches for the left and right side panels and front and back panels. The front and back panels may have a width of approximately 13 inches and the left and right panels may have a width of approximately 7 inches. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the inventive apparatus.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating details of the inventive apparatus.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bale bag used with the inventive apparatus.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 illustrates the bag of FIG. 3 in an open configuration.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged front elevation view of the bag of FIG. 3.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a top plan view illustrating the manufacture of the bag of FIG. 3.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a side view of the inventive apparatus.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 is a top plan view illustrating the apparatus in operation.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a top plan view illustrating the extraction of a bale bag.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 10 is a top plan view illustrating linear displacement of the extracted bag.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 11 is a top plan view illustrating the engagement of the extracted bag to open the bag.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 12 is a top plan view illustrating the activation of the apparatus to open the extracted bag.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the inventive apparatus illustrating linear displacement of the extracted opened bag into a loading area. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]    The present invention is directed to a technique that automatically extracts a bag, such as a bale bag, opens the bag, and positions the bag for loading. The present invention is embodied in a system  100  illustrated in the top plan view of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of bags  102  are placed on a protruding member  104 . In one embodiment, the protruding member  104  is a rod mounted at an upwardly projecting angle, as illustrated in FIG. 2, to permit gravity feeding of the bags  102 .  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the protruding member  104  illustrating its attachment to a frame  106  by a mounting bracket  108 . The mounting bracket  108  may be attached to the frame  106  using screws, nuts and bolts, rivets, or other known mechanical attachment components. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the protruding member  104  may be directly mounted to the frame  106  using well-known conventional techniques, such as welding, adhesives, or the like. The protruding member  104  may have a rounded terminal portion  104 t to minimize the potential to damage to the aperture  124  when loading the bags  102  onto the protruding member. The rounded terminal portion  104 t also makes it easier to place the bags  102  on the protruding member  104 .  
         [0025]    A cutting blade  110  is mounted at the lowest portion of the protruding member  104 . The cutting blade  110  may be a razor blade, knife blade, or other known device. In one embodiment, the cutting blade  110  may be mounted in a slot (not shown) in the protruding member  104 . The cutting blade  110  may be retained within the slot using conventional means, such as a set-screw, adhesive, or the like. As will be described in greater detail below, the cutting blade  110  is used to extract a bag  102  from the protruding member  104 .  
         [0026]    In one embodiment, the protruding member  104  is formed from a circular rod. The bag  102  is similar to a conventional bale bag, but is modified for use with the automatic system of the present invention. The bag  102  may be formed from one or more layers of brown paper. The bag  102  is illustrated in a folded or closed configuration in FIG. 3. The bags  102  are folded in the manner of a conventional grocery bag to permit ease in shipping and storage. The bag  102  is shown in an unfolded or open configuration in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 also includes an enlarged portion illustrating the multi-layer arrangement of the bag  102 . In the folded configuration, the dimensions of the bag  102  are approximately 13 inches wide by 32 inches long. When in the unfolded configuration, shown in FIG. 4, the bag has a depth of approximately 7 inches and an opening of approximately 7 inches by 13 inches. Although the bag  102  may have the standard dimensions described above, those skilled in the art will recognize that the system  100  can be used with bags of virtually any dimension. The only accommodation for bags of different size may be the relative location of the various components of the system  100 .  
         [0027]    The bag  102  may be manufactured from a single large piece of paper, illustrated in FIG. 5, that is cut, folded into several panels or portions, and glued in a conventional manner. The bag  102  has left and right side portions  112   l  and  112   r , respectively. The bag  102  also includes front and back portions  114   f  and  114   b , respectively. A strip  120  projects from the right side portion  112   r . The strip  120  is glued to the back portion  114   b  when the bag  102  is formed. The left and right side portions  112   l  and  112   r  have flaps  121 , which are used to seal the bottom of the bag  102 . Similarly, the front and back portions  114   f  and  114   b  have flaps  123  that are also used to seal and form a bottom portion  116 , as illustrated in FIG. 3.  
         [0028]    Once the bag  102  has been cut from stock material, it may be folded along fold lines  125  to form the front and back portions  114   f  and  114   b  and left and right side portions  112   l  and  1   12   r . The strip  120  may be glued to the back portion  114   b  to seal the various portions. The bag also includes fold lines  127 . The flaps  121  and  123  are folded at the fold lines  127  to form the bottom portion  116 . The flaps  121  from the left and right side portions  112   l  and  112   r  are folded. The flap  123  from the front portion  114   f  is folded and glued to the flaps  121 . Finally, the flap  123  from the back portion  114   b  is folded and glued to the flap  123  from the front portion  114   f  to seal the bottom portion  116  of the bag  102 . In this manner, the bag  102  may be manufactured.  
         [0029]    The bag  102  may be formed with creases to assist in folding the bag following manufacture. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the bag  102  may include a front crease  122   f  on the front portion  114   f  extending from the left side portion  112   l  to the right side portion  112   r  near the bottom  116  of the bag. The precise location of the crease  122   f  is typically dependent on the dimensions of the bag. For example, the crease  122   f  may be located at a distance from the bottom portion  116  that is approximately one-half of the distance between the front portion  114   f  and the back portion  114   b  when the bag is in the open configuration. In addition, the bag  102  may include creases  122   l  and  122   r  on the left and right side portions  112   l  and  112   r , respectively. The crease  122   l  and  122   r  are located approximately midway between the front portion  114   f  and the back  114   b  when the bag is in the open configuration. The creases  122   l  and  122   r  extend from the top portion  118  to a point near the bottom portion  116 . The creases  122   l  and  122   r  extend to a point approximately equal to the location of the crease  122   f  to facilitate folding of the bag  102 . From the terminating point of the creases  122   l  and  122   r , additional creases extend from the midline of the side portions  112   l  and  112   r  to the junctions of the side portions  112   l  and  112   r  with the front and back portions  114   f  and  114   b  near the bottom portion  116  of the bag  102 .  
         [0030]    The bag  102  also includes an aperture  124  in the top portion  118  of the back portion  114   b . In an exemplary embodiment, the aperture  124  is approximately 0.625 inches in diameter and is located a short distance from the top of the back portion  114   b . For example, the aperture  124  may be spaced apart from the top of the back portion  114   b  by approximately 0.25 inches. The short separation between the aperture  124  and the top of the back portion  114   b  of the bag  102  permits the easy extraction of the bag from the protruding member  104 . In one embodiment, the bag  102  may be removed from the protruding  104  simply by tearing the back portion  114   b  at the point of narrow separation between the back portion and the aperture  124 . The cutting blade  110  (see FIG. 2) may be used to slice the back portion  114   b  at the aperture  124  thus preventing an undesirable tear. Alternatively, the bag  102  may include a perforated portion above the aperture to control the tearing. In this embodiment, the cutting blade  110  can be eliminated.  
         [0031]    In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, the aperture  124  is circular in shape to match the cylindrical shape of the protruding member  104 . The cylindrical shape of the protruding member  104  and the circular aperture  124  permit easy loading of bags  102  onto the protruding aperture. In addition, the bags  102  slide easily down the cylindrical protruding member  104 .  
         [0032]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the protruding member  104  may have different shapes and that the aperture  124  may be circular or may have a shape that corresponds to the selected shape for the protruding member. For example, the protruding member  104  may have a semi-circular shape with a rounded portion on top and a flat portion on the bottom. The bags  102  may still have the circular aperture  124 , as illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, or may have a shape selected to correspond to the shape of the protruding member  104 . Other shapes, such as triangular, rectangular, or the like may also be used satisfactorily with the system  100 . The present invention is not limited by the specific geometric form of the protruding member  104  or the aperture  124 .  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the bag  102  illustrating the location of the aperture  124  in the back portion  114   b  of the bag. A curve cutout  126  in the front portion  114   f  of the bag  102  more fully exposes the aperture  124  in the back portion  114   b  and allows easy insertion of the protruding member  104  through the aperture when loading the bags. The bag  102  may also have a series of ventilation holes  129  in the front and back portions  114   f  and  114   b  to allow ventilation of the packaged produce.  
         [0034]    Returning again to FIG. 1, the system  100  also includes a set vacuum-operated suction devices  130   a  and  130   b  to engage and extract a first bag  102  from the protruding member  104 . The bags  102  are extracted from the protruding member  104  in the same sequence in which they are placed on the protruding member (i.e., first on-first off). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  have a terminal vacuum-operated suction cup  134   a  and  134   b , respectively. As the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  make contact with the bag  102 , the bag is retained by virtue of the vacuum-operated suction cups  134   a - b . The vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are mounted on air cylinder slides  136   a  and  136   b , respectively. The air cylinder slides  136   b  move in a direction indicated by a reference arrow  132  to allow the suction cups  134   a - b  to engage a first of the bags  102  on the protruding member  104 . The vacuum operated devices  130   a - b  may be positioned to engage the bag  102  at any desirable position. In an exemplary embodiment, the suction cups  134   a - b  engage a first side of the bag  102  on the back portion  114   b  (see FIG. 4) near the top portion  118  at a distance of approximately 1.5-2 inches in from the left and right sides  112   l  and  112   r , respectively.  
         [0035]    The vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  generate sufficient vacuum to engage a bag on the protruding member  104 , extract the bag and support the weight of the bag. The precise vacuum level is not critical, but must be sufficiently strong to perform the tasks outlined above. A vacuum may be readily generated using Venturi devices in which air is passed over the open end of a tube in order to create a suction at a distal end of the tube. In the system  100 , the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are commercial products available from Vaccon Vacuum Generator.  
         [0036]    In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a pair of vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are used to support the bag  102 . The use of dual vacuum-operated devices provides greater stability and relatively uniform extraction pressure on the bag  102  on both sides of protruding member  104  such that the bag is drawn smoothly against the cutting blade  110 . Additional vacuum-operated devices may be used to provide additional stability or if the size of the bag  102  warrants extra support. However, if the bag  102  is relatively small, a single vacuum-operated device may be sufficient to extract the bag from the protruding member  104 . Thus, the system  100  is not limited by the number or specific layout of the vacuum-operated devices used to extract the bag  102  from the protruding member  104 .  
         [0037]    In operation, the air cylinder slides  136   a - b  and the. vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  to engage the bag  102  on the protruding member  104 . Upon contact with the bag  102 , the suction cups  134   a - b  engage a first side of the bag (i.e., the back portion  114   b ) and retain the bag. As the air cylinder slides  136   a - b  and the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move away from the protruding member  104  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 , a single bag  102  is extracted from the protruding member and held in position by virtue of the suction cups  134   a - b . Thus, the system  100  is capable of automatically extracting a single bag  102  from the protruding member  104 . As the vacuum-operated device  130  moves away from the protruding member in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 , the cutting blade  110  slices through a portion of the bag  102  to allow its easy removal from the protruding member.  
         [0038]    The use of air cylinder slides, such as the air cylinder slides  136   a - b  is well known in the art and need not be described in greater detail herein. Alternatively, the vacuum devices  130   a - b  may be moved back and forth in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  through other known techniques, such as stepper motors, servo motors, drive chains, belts, or the like. The system  100  is not limited by the specific technique used to move the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 .  
         [0039]    In addition to movement in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 , the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are capable of moving in the direction indicated by a reference arrow  138 . To permit this movement, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are coupled to respective support brackets  140   a  and  140   b . In turn, the support brackets  140   a - b  are slidably coupled to a support member  142 . Movement of the support brackets  140   a - b  and thus the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  138  is controlled by a stepper motor (not shown). In an exemplary embodiment, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a  and  130   b  move in unison in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  138 . The vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  may be locked together and controlled by a single stepper motor. Alternatively, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a  and  130   b  may be independent with the position of each of the vacuum-operated devices being controlled by individual stepper motors.  
         [0040]    The positioning of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  can be precisely controlled with stepper motors. Signals to control the operation of the stepper motors are generated by a conventional computer (not shown), such as a personal computer (PC), a single board microcomputer, microcontroller, or the like. Displacement of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  is precisely controlled by the number of pulses provided to the stepper motor. Alternatively, the stepper motor may be replaced by other conventional drive means, such as air cylinder slides, servo motors, chain drives, belt drives, screw drives, and the like. Drive mechanisms, such as chain drives, may use position sensing microswitches (not shown) to control movement of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  138 . Use of such position sensing devices are well known in the art and need not be described in greater detail herein.  
         [0041]    The system  100  has a second pair of vacuum-operated devices  150   a  and  150   b  that are positioned in opposition to the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b . A suction cup  154   a  and  154   b  is mounted at the terminal end of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b , respectively. As will be described in detail below, the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  engage a bag  102  that has been previously been extracted by the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b . As previously described, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in the direction indicated by the reference  132  until the suction cups  134   a - b  engage a single bag  102  on a first side of the bag (i.e., the back portion  114   b ). The vacuum may be activated as the air cylinder slides  136   a -b are activated such that a vacuum is established before the suctions cups  134   a - b  make contact with the bag  102 . Alternatively, the vacuum can be established as the suction cups  134   a - b  approach the bag  102 . The vacuum is activated such that the suction cups  134   a - b  engage the first side of the bag  102 . As the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move away from the bags  102  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 , a single bag is extracted from the protruding member  104 .  
         [0042]    Following extraction of a single bag, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in a direction indicated by the reference arrow  138  until the vacuum-operated devices are substantially aligned with the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b . The vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  toward the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  until the suction cups  154   a - b  engage the second side of the bag  102  (i.e., the front portion  114   f ) opposite the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b . The vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are positioned to engage the front portion  114   f  of the bag  102  on the opposite side of the bag from the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b .  
         [0043]    When the suction cups  154   a - b  have engaged the second side of the back of the extracted bag  102 , the vacuum may be activated and the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  moved in a direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  away from the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  to thereby unfold the bag. Alternatively, the vacuum for the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  may be activated as the extracted bag  102  approaches. The precise moment of activation of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  is not critical to satisfactory operation of the system  100 .  
         [0044]    It should be noted that the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are not mounted on air cylinder slides, such as the air cylinder slides  136   a -b used to move the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 . The construction and operation of the system  100  are simplified by fixing the position of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  so that no movement occurs in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 . Such an arrangement simplifies the system  100  by eliminating need for air cylinder slides and the associated measurement and control circuitry. However, if the system  100  is installed in a location that limits the movement of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 , it is possible to mount the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  on air cylinder slides to permit movement in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132 . In this embodiment, both sets of vacuum-operated devices (i.e., the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b ) are positioned on air cylinder slides (e.g., the air cylinder slides  136   a - b ).  
         [0045]    The vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are also capable of movement in a second direction indicated by the reference arrow  158 . The vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are coupled to support brackets  160   a  and  160   b . The support brackets  160   a - b  are slidably connected to a support member  162  to permit movement in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  158 . Movement of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  158  is controlled by stepper motors. As discussed above with respect to the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b , a single stepper motor may be sufficient to move both vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b . In this embodiment, the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are coupled together for movement controlled by the single stepper motor. Alternatively, a stepper motor may be associated with each of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a  and  150   b . Alternatively, the movement of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  158  may be controlled by other conventional techniques, such as servo motors, air cylinder slides, chain drive, belt drive, screw drive, and the like. The present invention is not limited by the specific form of the drive mechanism used to control movement of the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  158 .  
         [0046]    Following engagement of the front and back portions  114   f  and  114   b  of the bag  102 , the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  move in synchronization in the direction indicated by the reference arrows  138  and  158 , respectively. In this manner, the extracted and opened bag  102  is moved into position at a conveyor belt  170  where the bag may be loaded. Conventional devices are used to automatically load the opened bag  102 . A set of clamps (not shown) attached to the top of the side portions  122   l  and  122   r  stabilize and retain the bag  102  while it is being loaded. As the product (e.g., individual bags of potatoes) are loaded into the opened bag  102 , the bottom  116  of the bag rests on the conveyor belt  170 . After the products have been loaded into the bag  102 , the side clamps (not shown) release and the conveyer belt  170  is activated to move the loaded bag  102  out of the loading area.  
         [0047]    It should be noted that the sequence of opening the bag and moving the bag to the conveyor belt  170  may be performed interchangeably. That is, the extracted bag  102  may be unfolded and subsequently moved to the conveyor belt  170 , as described above. Alternatively, the extracted bag  102  may be moved to the conveyor belt  170  while still in the folded configuration (see FIG. 3). The bag  102  may be subsequently opened into the unfolded configuration (see FIG. 4) after arrival at the conveyor belt  170 . Thus, the present invention is not limited by the specific sequence of these two events.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 7 is a side view of the system  100 . As best seen in FIG. 7, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b  are mounted at approximately the same height, but facing towards each other. As previously discussed, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b  are coupled to support members  142  and  162 , respectively, by respective support brackets  140  and  160 . In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the support members  142  and  162  are rectangular supports that may conveniently be manufactured from aluminum or other conventional materials. As can be seen from FIG. 7, the support members  142  and  162  each contain a channel  174 . The mounting bracket  140  is inserted in the channel  174  of the support member  142  such that the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  may move smoothly along the channel in a direction indicated by the reference arrow  138  (see FIG. 1). Similarly, the support bracket  160  is inserted into the channel  174  of the support member  162  to permit the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  to move easily along the channel in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  158  (see FIG. 1).  
         [0049]    [0049]FIGS. 7-12 are top plan views of the system  100  illustrating the positioning of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b  at different stages of the process. In FIG. 8, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  advance in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  until the suction cups  134   a - b  make contact with the first bag  102  on the protruding member  104 . It should be noted that the vacuum device may be continuously activated at this step or may be activated at any point before contacting the bag  102  or at the time of contact of the bag. When the vacuum is activated, the suction cups  134   a - b  engage and retain the first bag  102  on the protruding member  104 .  
         [0050]    In FIG. 9, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  away from the protruding member  104 . Because the first bag  102  is held in engagement with the suction cups  134   a - b  by virtue of the vacuum, the first bag is extracted from the protruding member  104 . As noted above, the small section of the bag  102  above the aperture  124  (see FIG. 5) is torn by the process of removal from the protruding member  104 . The cutting blade  110  (see FIG. 2) may be used to control the extraction process by initiating the cut in the paper just above the aperture  124 . In yet another alternative embodiment, the section of the bag  102  just above the aperture  124  may be perforated to control the tearing process as the first bag is extracted from the protruding member  104 .  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 9 illustrates the position of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  following the extraction of the first bag  102  from the protruding member  104 . At this point, the extracted bag  102  is still in the folded configuration (see FIG. 3). In FIG. 10, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are displaced in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  138  until the vacuum-operated devices are substantially aligned with the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b.    
         [0052]    In FIG. 11, the air cylinder slides  136   a  and  136   b  are activated to move the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  until the suction cups  154   a - b  make contact with the second side of the extracted bag  102 . It should be noted that the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are still activated such that the first side (i.e., the back portion  114   b ) of extracted bag  102  is held in position by the suction cups  134   a - b . When the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are activated, the suction cups  154   a - b  engage and retain the second side (i.e., the front portion  114   f ) of the extracted bag  102 . As noted above with respect to the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b , the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  may be activated as the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  approach with the extracted bag  102  or after the suction cups  154   a - b  make contact with the second side (i.e., the front portion  114   f ) of the extracted bag.  
         [0053]    In FIG. 12, the air cylinder slides  136   a - b  withdraw away from the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  32 . As the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move away from the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b , the extracted bag  102  is opened into the unfolded configuration (see FIG. 4). The bag  102  may be opened by moving one or both of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b  away from each other. In an exemplary embodiment, the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  are held in a constant position while only the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in the direction indicated by the reference arrow  132  away from the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b . This process places the extracted bag  102  in the unfolded configuration.  
         [0054]    Alternatively, the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  also move in the direction indicated by a reference arrow  152  away from the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b . If both vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b  move approximately the same distance, the extracted bag  102  is placed in the unfolded configuration (see FIG. 4) approximately centered between the support members  142  and  162 . In yet another alternative, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  may be held in a constant position while the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  move in a direction indicated by the reference arrow  152  away from the vacuum-operated device  130 . In any of these combinations of movement, the extracted bag  102  is placed in the unfolded configuration.  
         [0055]    The extracted and unfolded bag  102  is moved into position atop the conveyor belt  170 , as shown in FIG. 13. This movement is accomplished by synchronized movement of the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b . Specifically, the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  move in a direction indicated by the reference arrow  138  toward the conveyor belt  170  at a predetermined rate of movement. At the same time, the vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  move in a direction indicated by the reference arrow  158  toward the conveyor belt  170  at the same predetermined rate thus maintaining the position of the suction cups  134   a - b  and  154   a - b  with respect to the extracted and unfolded bag  102 . While at the conveyor belt  170 , the unfolded bag  102  is filled in a conventional manner. As previously discussed, a clamping mechanism (not shown) clamps the open bag in position on the conveyor belt  170  to permit loading. The open bag  102  is automatically loaded with prepackaged bags of produce using a conventional automatic loading machine (not shown).  
         [0056]    One the clamps (not shown) have been activated to secure the open bag  102 , the process of extracting a new bag may be repeated. That is, the vacuum is deactivated so that the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  and  150   a - b  no longer support the open bag  102 . The vacuum-operated devices  150   a - b  return to their original starting position. The air cylinder slides  136   a - b  retract and the vacuum-operated devices  130   a - b  are returned to their original position. The entire process is repeated to automatically extract the next bag  102  from the protruding member  104 .  
         [0057]    Thus, the system  100  automatically extracts a single bag from the protruding member  104 , opens the extracted bag to an unfolded configuration, and moves the extracted open bag into position on the conveyor belt  170 . As previously noted, it is possible to move the extracted bag  102  into position above the conveyor belt  170  before opening the bag. That is, the process of opening the extracted bag  102  into the unfolded configuration (see FIG. 4) may be performed in the sequence illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 or the process may be reversed such that the unopened extracted bag  102  is first moved to the conveyor belt  170  and opened into the unfolded configuration. In either event, the process of extracting bags is automated by the system  100  thus reducing labor costs and increase efficiency. In an exemplary embodiment, the protruding member  104  is sufficiently long to hold a large number (e.g., 50) of bags  102 .  
         [0058]    It is to be understood that even though various embodiments and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, the above disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, yet remain within the broad principles of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1