Abstract: Bags are fed individually along a linear path from an upright bag pack by front vacuum cups and after the leading bag has been separated from the pack, rear suction cups are engaged with the back of the leading bag. The front and rear suction cups are moved away from each other to enable a bag gripper to be inserted in its upper end after which the front suction cups are swung out of the bag path, the gripper is moved to move the leading bag past the front suction cups, the front suction cups are then swung back into the bag path, the rear suction cups are swung out of the bag path and the front suction cups are moved toward the bag pack to extract the next bag from the bag pack.

Abstract: Bruising of fruit in a fruit bin filling operation accomplished by mechanism including an elevationally adjustable endless fruit-depositing conveyor having fruit-carrying pockets is minimized by mounting the pocket dividers so that they may swing between a position substantially perpendicular to the endless conveyor and a position sloping outward and backward away from the direction of movement of the endless conveyor. This feature eases movement of fruit from the supply conveyor to the depositing conveyor and eliminates flipping of fruit out of the depositing conveyor discharge by the pocket divider behind the fruit being deposited. Also a slightly declined support plate is swingably mounted to the depositing conveyor discharge end and maintained in such slightly declined attitude as the depositing conveyor is swung about a horizontal axis to change the elevation of the discharge end of such conveyor.