Abstract: A method and apparatus for supplying empty-bag group including a belt conveyor which conveys empty bags manufactured by a bag-making machine, a slide conveyor which conveys empty bags that are supplied from the belt conveyor at a specified pitch with the bag bottoms facing forward and which releases these bags from the front end of slide conveyor, and a stacking conveyor which receives the empty bags that are released from the slide conveyor; the front end position of the slide conveyor being movable and caused to move toward the bag mouths intermittently by a specified distance at a time at the above-described pitch, resulting in that an empty-bag group in which empty bags are stacked with the upper empty bags being successively shifted toward the bag mouths by a specified distance at a time is formed on the stacking conveyor.

Abstract: An empty-bag group supply system in which at a bag maker, a plurality of empty bags are placed in a stacked state in which these bags are shifted in the direction of length of a bag in a bag accommodation tray whose width is substantially the same as the width of the empty bags and whose length is sufficiently longer than the length of the empty bags, and this bag accommodation tray is sent to a package maker; and at the package maker, the stacked empty bags are removed from the bag accommodation tray and placed “as is” on the conveyor of a conveyor magazine type empty-bag supply apparatus. The bag accommodation tray is formed with a rectangular hole in the bottom plate; and upon taking out the empty-bags, an extraction member is raised from below via the hole and lifts the empty bags from the bag accommodation tray.

Abstract: An empty bag supplying apparatus used in a continuous conveying type bag-filling packaging machine in which the empty bag supplying apparatus receives empty bags and transfers these empty bags to gripper pairs of the bag-filling packaging machine that are moved continuously at a constant speed. The empty bag supplying apparatus includes downward-facing bag holding members and a reciprocating movement mechanism. The bag holding members hold the upper portions of bags. The reciprocating movement mechanism causes the bag holding members to reciprocate along an arc-shaped path and keeps the empty bags held by the holding members to be parallel to the direction of movement of the gripper pairs during the reciprocating motion. In a bag transfer region established in the arc-shaped path path, the speed of the bag holding members holding the empty bags is equal to the moving speed of the gripper pairs.

Abstract: A guide device for loading a solid matter into a bag including: an upper hopper which performs a reciprocating swinging motion along the conveying direction of the bag and about a supporting shaft located in the center of the upper portion of the upper hoppers, and a lower hopper which is positioned beneath the upper hopper and performs a reciprocating horizontal motion along the conveying direction of the bags and also moved toward and away from the upper hopper. The upper hopper's swing motion and the lower hopper's horizontal motion along the conveying direction of the bag are made in synchronization with the movement of the bag, and the lower hopper is lowered so that its lower opening is inserted into the mouth of the bag.

Abstract: A bag conveying apparatus including a sprocket continuously rotated on a horizontal plane, a fixed guide member having a guide section of a semicircular shape, and an endless chain mounted between the sprocket and the guide section of the guide member. The endless chain is comprised of a plurality of links connected by connecting shafts. Guide rollers rotatable about their own vertical axes are disposed on and under each connecting shaft, and an inside guide roller rotatable about its own horizontal axis is disposed on the inner side of each link. The guide section of the guide member has roller guide sections that contact the guide rollers of the endless chain, and the guide section also has a guide groove in which the inside guide rollers of the endless chain are fitted. Grippers that grip both edges of a bag are installed on each link.

Abstract: In a device that opens the mouth of each one of the bags that are suspended with the mouths facing upward and conveyed in a vertical state at a uniform speed and uniform spacing in a straight line, a pair of suction disks revolve continuously in mutually opposite directions on circular tracks on the horizontal plane so that the suction-chucking surfaces of the suction disks are always caused to face each other. The suction disks revolve at a constant speed while maintaining substantially symmetrical positions relative to each other and revolve at the same speed as the speed the bags are conveyed.

Abstract: A packaging processing (liquid filling) apparatus, including a rising-and-lowering assembly attached to a pivot member and moved vertically and filling nozzles attached to the rising-and-lowering assembly. An endless chain having grippers at equal intervals is rotated continuously by a sprocket. A circular first raising-and-lowering cam that rotates with the sprocket is attached to the sprocket, and a circular-arc-shaped second raising-and-lowering cam is provided near the first raising-and-lowering cam; and a cam roller attached to the rising-and-lowering assembly is caused to roll on these cams. When the pivot member makes a forward motion to follow the bags held by grippers, the cam roller rolls over the second raising-and-lowering cam, and the rising-and-lowering assembly is lowered and then raised; when the pivot member makes a return motion, the cam roller rolls over the first raising-and-lowering cam, and the rising-and-lowering assembly is maintained in a raised position.

Abstract: An opening apparatus that opens continuously conveyed bags with a gas supplied by nozzles. A plurality of nozzles having conical head sections and discharge openings at the tip ends are attached to a rotation transmitting member with equal spaces in between, and this rotation transmitting member is caused to revolve at a constant speed while maintaining a horizontal attitude by means of a parallel link mechanism. The nozzles revolve at a constant speed on a circular track in a vertical plane along the conveying direction of bags with the discharge openings consistently facing the bags. When the nozzles are at the lower point on the circular track, the head sections enter into the bags that are being conveyed at a constant speed, and a gas is caused to jet into the bags from the discharged openings, thus spread-opening the bags.

Abstract: A packaging processing (liquid filling) apparatus, including a rising-and-lowering assembly attached to a pivot member and moved vertically and filling nozzles attached to the rising-and-lowering assembly. An endless chain having grippers at equal intervals is rotated continuously by a sprocket. A circular first raising-and-lowering cam that rotates with the sprocket is attached to the sprocket, and a circular-arc-shaped second raising-and-lowering cam is provided near the first raising-and-lowering cam; and a cam roller attached to the rising-and-lowering assembly is caused to roll on these cams. When the pivot member makes a forward motion to follow the bags held by grippers, the cam roller rolls over the second raising-and-lowering cam, and the rising-and-lowering assembly is lowered and then raised; when the pivot member makes a return motion, the cam roller rolls over the first raising-and-lowering cam, and the rising-and-lowering assembly is maintained in a raised position.

Abstract: An empty bag supplying apparatus used in a continuous conveying type bag-filling packaging machine in which the empty bag supplying apparatus receives empty bags and transfers these empty bags to gripper pairs of the bag-filling packaging machine that are moved continuously at a constant speed. The empty bag supplying apparatus includes downward-facing bag holding members and a reciprocating movement mechanism. The bag holding members hold the upper portions of bags. The reciprocating movement mechanism causes the bag holding members to reciprocate along an arc-shaped path and keeps the empty bags held by the holding members to be parallel to the direction of movement of the gripper pairs during the reciprocating motion. In a bag transfer region established in the arc-shaped path path, the speed of the bag holding members holding the empty bags is equal to the moving speed of the gripper pairs.

Abstract: A bag conveying apparatus including a sprocket continuously rotated on a horizontal plane, a fixed guide member having a guide section of a semicircular shape, and an endless chain mounted between the sprocket and the guide section of the guide member. The endless chain is comprised of a plurality of links connected by connecting shafts. Guide rollers rotatable about their own vertical axes are disposed on and under each connecting shaft, and an inside guide roller rotatable about its own horizontal axis is disposed on the inner side of each link. The guide section of the guide member has roller guide sections that contact the guide rollers of the endless chain, and the guide section also has a guide groove in which the inside guide rollers of the endless chain are fitted. Grippers that grip both edges of a bag are installed on each link.

Abstract: An opening apparatus that opens continuously conveyed bags with a gas supplied by nozzles. A plurality of nozzles having conical head sections and discharge openings at the tip ends are attached to a rotation transmitting member with equal spaces in between, and this rotation transmitting member is caused to revolve at a constant speed while maintaining a horizontal attitude by means of a parallel link mechanism. The nozzles revolve at a constant speed on a circular track in a vertical plane along the conveying direction of bags with the discharge openings consistently facing the bags. When the nozzles are at the lower point on the circular track, the head sections enter into the bags that are being conveyed at a constant speed, and a gas is caused to jet into the bags from the discharged openings, thus spread-opening the bags.

Abstract: In a device that opens the mouth of each one of the bags that are suspended with the mouths facing upward and conveyed in a vertical state at a uniform speed and uniform spacing in a straight line, a pair of suction disks revolve continuously in mutually opposite directions on circular tracks on the horizontal plane so that the suction-chucking surfaces of the suction disks are always caused to face each other. The suction disks revolve at a constant speed while maintaining substantially symmetrical positions relative to each other and revolve at the same speed as the speed the bags are conveyed.

Abstract: A guide device for loading a solid matter into a bag including: an upper hopper which performs a reciprocating swinging motion along the conveying direction of the bag and about a supporting shaft located in the center of the upper portion of the upper hoppers, and a lower hopper which is positioned beneath the upper hopper and performs a reciprocating horizontal motion along the conveying direction of the bags and also moved toward and away from the upper hopper. The upper hopper's swing motion and the lower hopper's horizontal motion along the conveying direction of the bag are made in synchronization with the movement of the bag, and the lower hopper is lowered so that its lower opening is inserted into the mouth of the bag.