US2608331A - Bag opening machine with upper and lower bag forming units - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 26, 1952 E. HOFFMAN 2,608,331

BAG OPENING MACHINE WITH UPPER AND LOWER BAG FORMING UNITS Filed Aug. 7, 1946 2 SHEETS --ShEET 1 INVEN TOR.

M WW UL @W QM A Jmk ATTORNEYS Aug. 26, 1952 r E, HOFFMAN 2,608,331

BAG OPENING MACHINE WITH UPPER AND LOWER BAG FORMING UNITS Filed Aug. 7, 1946 Z'SHEETS ShEET 2 INVENTOR ATTORNI'EYS Patented Aug. 26, 1952 BAG OPENING MACHINE WITH UPPER; AND LOWER BAG FORMING UNITS Ernest Hoffman, Nutley, N. J., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 7 1946, Serial No. 689,067

2 Claims.

This invention relates to bag or container opening machines and has particular reference to a machine for opening or expanding folded or collapsed bags, flexible containers and the like and for holding them in opened position for fillmg.

An object of the invention is the provision of a bag opening machine for opening folded or collapsed flexible bags, shipping carriers and the like into expanded article receiving condition.

Another object of the invention is'the provision of a bag opening machine having elements .which permit the telescoping of a collapsed or partially opened bag thereover in one position and which in another position expand the bag into contents receiving condition and thereafter release the filled bag or carrier.

- Still another object of the invention is. the provision of such a machine of simple construction wherein a combination of devices cooperate to expand a collapsed orpartially opened bag and hold it in'article receiving condition and guide the articles into filling position within the expanded bag.

Numerous other objects and advantag-es of the invention will be apparent as it is better'understood from the following description, which, taken in connection With the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof. r Referring to the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of a bag opening machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is'a view similar. to Fig. l, with certain parts removed and showing a partially opened bag being slipped or telescoped onto expandable and contractable bag opening or forming mandrel units; i

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the bag opening units in fully expanded position within a bag, causing the latter-to be fully telescoped and expanded thereover; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view-of the machine showingoperating parts located at and viewed fromthe side of the machine opposite to that ofFig.l. As a preferred embodiment of the invention, the drawings illustrate a machine for opening folded or flattened bags, flexible containers, shipping carriers and the likedesignated by'iithe letter A; which, upon being partiallyopened' and such as paper and when expanded, preferably.

forms a square or rectangular container, as best illustrated in Fig. 3, for the shipping of articles such as empty containers. Such a bag is formed with four side wall members a, b, c and d. Each of the walls a, b, c and d have their marginal bottom edges bent and folded and secured to a bottom wall member e. The bag A as just described is received, for example, at a can manufacturers plant in a flattened or folded form and is used for packing empty cans or containers usually formed with a'body having the bottom end secured thereto. Such cans are in a completed form (except for th top ends which are usually shipped separately) ready for filling at a cannery and therefore are packed in bags or flexible containers A by the can maker for the purpose of shipping them to the canner or packer for filling the. desired product therein.

. The bag opening machine embodying the present invention comprises contractable and expandable bag engaging units or mandrel parts for opening the bags A and for holding them in expanded position while they are being filled. One of the unitsdesignated by the letter B, is a scooplike member consisting of bottom wall II, and two opposed walls or flanges [2 which may be termed lower wings which are bent upwardly at substantially right angles to the plane of the bottom wall I l. Anarm such as a rod or tubular tangular frame I6 which comprises the main frame of the machine and hasa front and rear opening. This frame [6 may be formed integrally with or mounted. on a base or pedestal l1.

' The other of the bag engaging units, designated by the letter C, is located above and in alignmentwith the unit B and comprises a pair of spaced upper wings 2|. Each of the upper wings 2| is located above and adjacent one of the lower Wings [2. The upper wings 2! are secured to arms such as rods or tubular elements [22, which in turn are secured at their inner ends to an upper rocker shaft 23, which. is car- 'ried in suitable bearings 24 formed in the'frame I6.

The shaft 23 is disposed in parallel fvert'ically spaced alignment with the shaft M and preferably is' operated simultaneously with it. The, outer or forward ends ofhthe lower wings l2 and the upper wings 2| are cut away in a curve asat 25, so that when the units B and C are contracted, they form a wedge shape for easy entry into a partially opened bag or carrier A.

The units B and C may be operated in any suitable manner to expand and contract them. For example, a hand lever 3| (Fig. l) is secured to a right hand extension of the lower rocker shaft M. Rocker shaft [4 is linked to rocker shaft 23 through an interconnected linkage comprising levers or arms 32, 33, 34. There are two sets of these levers, one at each end of the shafts M and 23 at opposite sides of the machine (Figs. 1 and 4).

Each lever or arm 32 is secured at its lower end to the shaft i and is pivoted at its upper end to the lever 33, as by a pin 35. Each lever or arm 33 is connected through a pin 36 tothe lower end of the lever or arm 34. Each lever 34 is secured at its upper end to the shaft 23. Thus, as the hand lever 3! is moved from the rearward position shown in Fig. l to the forward position of Fig. 3, the units B and C respectively secured to shafts l4 and 23 are moved from theircontracted position to their expanded position.

For the purpose of restoring the units Band C to their contracted position as an incident to positioning another bag in place for opening, springs 31 are provided. One end of the spring 3'1 is linked to the pin 35 and the opposite end to a pin 38 secured to the outer side walls of the frame it at each side of the machine.

Provision is made to maintain the units B and C in their expanded position while empty cans or other articles are being filled or packed into an opened bag thru the rearopening of the frame l6 where they are arranged in a stack or column on the scoop-like member B. For this purpose latch links 42 are, provided, there being one such latch link on each side of the machine (Figs. 1 and 4). Each latch link 42 is carried on the outer end of one of the pins 35. A semicircular slot 13 is formed in the lower end of each of the latch links 42 for engagement with the shaft, M for locking the units in their expanded position. Thus as the shaft I4 is rocked by the hand lever 31 for moving the units B and C from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that in Fig. 3, the latch links 42 slide into locking position on the shaft I4 by means of" the semicircular slots 13.

A leaf spring 44 is carried on each of the latch links 42 adjacent the semicircular slot 33 on a pin 45 secured in each of the links. These leaf springs hold the latch links in their locked position while the units Band C are in expanded position, as during packing. of empty cans or other articles into a held opened bag or carrier. Reverse movement of the hand lever 3| from the position shown in Fig; 3 to that illustrated. in Fig. l disengages the latch links 42' from the shaft l6. Cooperating with'the action of hand lever 3|, the springs 37 help to return the units B and C to their initial contracted position.

Instead of having both mandrel units B and C'movable towards and away from each other, contraction and expansion of these units can also be effectively secured by having only one ofthe units movably. mounted in the frame and having the other in fixed position.

In order to open a flattened or foldedbag or container A by the machine just described, a bag A first is partially openedyas best illustrated in, Fig. 2, and is slipped or telescoped over the outer ends of'the units B and C when they are in their contracted position. The mouth of the partially opened bag then is slipped further onto the units B and C to fully open the walls of the bag. The units B and C are then shifted by the shafts l4 and 23 to swing the units to their fully expanded position (Fig. 3), thereby opening the bag or carrier into article receiving condition.

During the expansion of the units B and vC each lower wing l2 cooperates with each adjoining and overlapping upper wing 2|, thereby providing opposed container wall engaging supports for the opened bag, which in cooperation with the bottom wall ll produce a hollow mandrel comprising three adjoining interior lining walls or mandrel units which support the opened bag or carrier. The walls of these mandrel units serve as guides and support the vertical stacks or columns of empty cans or containers as they are placed on the scoop-like member B and into the opened bags through the rear opening of the frame I6 and the fully opened mouth end of the bag.

The bag A upon being filled with empty cans or other articles then is slipped off of the units B and C without disturbing the arrangement of cans or other articles in the filled bag. The filled bag then may be closed and sealed at its opened end in any suitable manner whereupon the bag is ready for shipment to the cannery or other packing place.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts of the apparatus mentioned herein and in the steps and their order of accomplishment of the process described herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the apparatus and process hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a bag opening machine, the combination of a frame having a vertically disposed opening through which articles are passed horizontally for filling into bags held in open horizontal position, a pair of parallel horizontally disposed and vertically spaced rocker shafts comprising an upper shaft and a lower shaft both carried in said frame within said opening, each of said shafts having horizontally spaced arms projecting therefrom, a scoop-like support member secured to the arms on said lower rocker shaft and projecting outwardly from and overhanging said frame, said support member having a bottom for supporting a plurality of articles in vertically stacked relation when received through said frame opening withsaid bottom in substantially horizontal position, said support member also having a pair' of vertically disposed lower side wings, a pair of horizontally spaced upper side wings secured to the arms on said upper rocker shaft and depending therefrom, said up per side wings being disposed in vertical position adjacent and overlapping the side wings ofsaid support member for substantially their full length, said overlapping lower and upper side wings cooperating in guiding and holding articles in stacked relation on the bottom of said support member, and actuating means for rocking said upper and lower rocker shafts in unison for moving the projecting ends of said upper wings and sa'id'support member together for receiving a collapsed bag to be filled with articles, said actuating means also moving said upper wings away from said bottom to expand and hold said collapsed bag in open position to receive said articles.

2. In a bag opening machine, the combination of a frame having a vertically disposed opening through which articles are passed horizontally for filling into bags held in open horizontal posi- I tion, a pair of parallel horizontally disposed and.

vertically spaced rocker shafts comprising an upper shaft and a lower shaft both carried in said frame within said opening, each of said shafts having horizontally spaced arms projecting therefrom, a scoop-like support member secured to the arms on said lower rocker shaft and projecting outwardly from and overhanging said frame, said support member having a bottom for supporting a plurality of articles in vertically stacked relation when received through said frame opening with said bottom in substantially horizontal position, said support member also having a pair of vertically disposed lower side wings, a pair of horizontally spaced upper side wings secured to the arms on said upper rocker shaft and depending therefrom, said upper side wings being disposed in vertical position adjacent and overlapping the side wings of said support member for substantially their full length, said overlapping lower and upper side wings cooperating in guiding and holding articles in stacked relation on the bottom of said support member, plvotally connected lever linkage interposed between said rocker shafts and providing corresponding movement of both shafts, actuating means for rocking said upper and lower rocker shafts in unison for moving the projecting ends of said upper Wings and said support member together for receiving a collapsed bag to be filled with articles and for moving said upper wings away from said bottom to expand and hold said collapsed bag in open position, and latch means connected with said shaft linkage for holding said wings in expanded position to hold the bag open to receive said articles.

ERNEST HOFFMAN,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

Images