Patent ID: 7992364

Claim:
A vertical bagging machine comprising: a spindle defining a spindle axis; a roll of stock material received over said spindle, wherein said stock material is unwindable as a flat sheet; a folding plate defining a folding plate plane that is substantially parallel with said spindle axis, said folding plate including a first edge and a second edge, wherein said first edge connects with said second edge at a central peak; first and second folding rollers positioned generally adjacent to said folding plate and being generally parallel with said folding plate plane, said first and second folding rollers defining a nip therebetween, wherein said flat sheet extends over said first edge, said second edge and said central peak and is folded between said nip to define a first configuration of a folded sheet having a first folded half, a second folded half, a horizontal fold therebetween, a first surface of the sheet being an exterior surface of the first configuration, and a second surface of the sheet being an interior surface of the first configuration; and a spreader chute arranged to receive the folded sheet as the folded sheet emerges from the first and second rollers, wherein the spreader chute comprises a transition zone and includes a first guide plate and a second guide plate, said second guide plate being parallel with and spaced apart from said first guide plate to define a laterally accessible loading space therebetween, each of said first and said second guide plates including an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein said first folded half is received over said inner and said outer surfaces of said first guide plate, and wherein said second folded half is received over said inner and said outer surfaces of said second guide plate, wherein said first and said second guide plates inverts the folded sheet from the first configuration into a second configuration in the transition zone, with the second configuration having a vertical fold, the first surface being an interior surface of the second configuration, and the second surface being an exterior surface of the second configuration, and wherein said first and said second guide plates maintain contact with the first and second folded halves throughout the transition zone.