Package making – Apparatus for forming or partially forming receptacle and... – Forming by opening or setting up collapsed receptacle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-07
2001-11-20
Vo, Peter (Department: 3721)
Package making
Apparatus for forming or partially forming receptacle and...
Forming by opening or setting up collapsed receptacle
C053S571000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318052
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing and conveying a bag from a stack of bags.
2. Description of the Prior Art
DE 38 06 419 A1 discloses such an apparatus in which the bag to be removed is sucked against a conveyor belt which then conveys the bag to a predefined position. However the further handling possibilities of the so conveyed bag are very limited since the bag has to be released at a predefined position. The operating area of such a device is therefore very small and the throughput capacity of these known apparatuses are rather low.
In known apparatuses of this kind the uppermost bags of a stack of bags stored in a bag hopper are removed by means of a (swivelable) gripper arm which is provided with a suction function, are lifted and thus separated from the remaining stack of bags.
It is known from GB 375.260 A to lift the uppermost bag of such a stack of bags by means of a vacuum gripper arm through the gaps of a chain conveyor, with the chains of the chain conveyor being connected with rods and the arrangement of rods being interrupted by one or several gaps. The uppermost bag is held for such a time until the entire bag is driven underneath by a revolving rod arrangement which is separated by the gaps. The bag is then released and conveyed by the chain conveyor to a position for further processing.
The disadvantage of these known apparatuses is the fact that only very limited throughput capacities are possible because there are only very few gaps in the chain conveyor and that the chain conveyor can only be driven at low speed because the bags to be conveyed only rest on the chain conveyor, which leads to the danger for particularly light bags that they will fall down due to the air stream produced by the chain conveyor.
Solutions are also known where the bag is swiveled by a vacuum gripper arm from a horizontal plane to a vertical plane from where it is conveyed by means of further conveying means to an end position (e.g. a filling station).
The disadvantage also arises in said known solutions of a very low throughput due to the mechanical structure of such a gripper. Moreover, the conveyance of the bag to be removed to a horizontal position with a vacuum gripper can only be realized in a very complicated manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the kind mentioned above which allows an increase in the throughput of the bags to be removed and brings the removed bag either in a horizontal, vertical or intermediate position for further processing.
This is achieved in accordance with the invention with an apparatus for removing a bag from a stack of bags, which comprises an apparatus for lifting the bag from the stack by suction and for conveying the bag in a conveying direction to a position for further processing or filling. The apparatus for lifting and conveying the bag comprises a driven conveyor belt between whose upper and lower strand there is arranged a device for producing a sub-atmospheric pressure for pressing the removed bag against the lower conveyor belt strand. The conveyor belt is driven about two deflection rollers and the two deflection rollers are mounted on two movable arms forming a parrallelogram mechanism whereby the two arms convey the conveyor belt from a first position, in which the bag is sucked against the lower conveyor belt strand to the position for further processing or filling, and the conveyor belt and the device for producing the sub-atmospheric pressure is held horizontally and vertically movable to accelerate the removing of the bag.
As a result, the conveyor belt can be lifted together with the device for producing the sub-atmospheric pressure, and the removed bag can be lifted or swiveled into a position for further processing. The removed bag can subsequently be conveyed away, simultaneously with, or subsequently to, the lifting/swiveling, depending on the length of the conveyor belt, in a horizontal direction at high speed by means of the conveyor belt. The sub-atmospheric pressure ensures that the empty bags cannot slip off the conveyor belt. The combined horizontal and vertical (lifting/lowering and swiveling) movement of the removed bag allows the position of the bag always to remain horizontal.
The mounting of the deflection rollers of the conveyor belt on a parallelogram mechanism enables the bag to be lifted rapidly off the stack of bags, and the removed bag to be conveyed horizontally by the conveyor belt.
According to another feature, a first supporting roller is arranged downstream of the conveyor belt in the conveying direction for pressing against the conveyor belt in the position for further processing or filling, a pivotal lever having two arms is provided, the two lever arms having free ends, an adjusting device is connected to the free end of one of the lever arms, the first supporting roller being mounted on the free end of the other lever arm, another lever is rotatable about a pivot, and a connecting rod rigidly connects the other lever arm to the pivot.
This allows the bag, which has already been removed from the stack and further conveyed on the conveyor belt, to be drawn between a deflection roller of the conveyor belt and the first supporting roller. This allows performing the further manipulation of the bag in a relatively simple manner, with the deflection roller and the first supporting roller acting as feeding means for the further apparatuses provided for further processing. The first supporting roller is adapted precisely to the position of the conveyor belt in order to ensure the optimal drawing-in of the removed bag.
Further processing and handling of the bag in a simple manner can be accomplished by providing a second supporting roller mounted on a free end of the other lever for pressing against the first supporting roller. The removed bag can be handled further in a horizontal as well as vertical position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3777558 (1973-12-01), Bain
patent: 4495746 (1985-01-01), Focke et al.
patent: 4516762 (1985-05-01), Moltrasio et al.
patent: 4545184 (1985-10-01), Akiyama
patent: 4643412 (1987-02-01), Heina et al.
patent: 5836581 (1998-11-01), Vernackt
patent: 37 42 637 (1989-06-01), None
patent: 38 06 419 (1989-09-01), None
patent: 375260 (1932-07-01), None
Chukwurah Nathaniel
Vo Peter
Waagner-Biro Binder AG
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