Patent ID: 8474227

Claim:
A bag neck accumulating device for flexible plastic bags, comprising: a conveyor belt configured to move a sequential array of plastic bags each containing one or more articles supported for movement in a substantially horizontal plane along an article travel path that presents an open-mouth portion of each bag in a substantially horizontal plane; a lower drive unit; an upper drive unit supported in floating relation atop the lower drive unit; a first drive mechanism provided by the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit and configured along a laterally constrained course spaced from the conveyor belt along a bag neck travel path, provided laterally of the article travel path and configured to advance the substantially horizontal open-mouth portion of a bag at a first speed; and a second drive mechanism provided by the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit and configured along the laterally constrained course provided along the bag neck travel path adjacent and downstream of the first drive mechanism and configured to advance the open-mouth portion of the bag at a second speed less than the first speed so as to accumulate and foreshorten the open-mouth portion of the bag; wherein the upper drive unit is pivotally affixed to the lower drive unit via a hinge such that during an operating state of the device while accumulating bag necks a top portion of the first drive mechanism and the second drive mechanism can be separated from a bottom portion of the first drive mechanism and the second drive mechanism by pivoting the upper drive unit upwardly away from the lower drive unit about the hinge while the open-mouth portion of each bag passes therethrough.