METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STACKING AND FEEDING FILLABLE FLEXIBLE CONTAINERS (STAND-UP BAGS)
A method and apparatus for loading and subsequently dispensing a plurality of flexible baglike containers. In one embodiment the baglike containers are configured in an unloaded, empty, mode to be in a substantially flat configuration. These flat items are stacked flat into a batching container and (such as a cardboard box) dispensed “off the bottom” of the stack by a container loading apparatus. The container loading apparatus grasps the flat items, pulls them from the bottom of the stack, and then loads them through a feed hole as known in the art. One of the inventions herein is the particular manner in which the flexible baglike containers are loaded into a stack within the batching container. Under this particular inventive manner, the bags are stacked in offset sub-batches. This provides improved stacking but still provides suitable dispensing characteristics. Another disclosed concept is the use of multiple boxes and an automated feed system for said boxes to reduce associated infeed labor.
This application claims the full benefit and priority of pending provisional patent application No. 60/863,219 filed Oct. 27, 2006, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Stacking and Feeding Fillable Flexible Containers.” The entire contents of said application are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to the handling and packaging of items, and particularly relates to a method for providing, stacking, and feeding flexible containers having an uneven cross section such as that provided by a seal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is configured to be used in the container environment mentioned above.
The present invention further provides an improved method and apparatus for loading food containers.
The present invention further provides an improved method and apparatus for loading food containers, including an improved method and apparatus for reducing the manual labor needed in the infeed of empty containers just prior to loading.
The present invention further provides an improved method and apparatus for providing boxes of unfilled food containers, said boxes being configured to be readily positioned for automated infeed to the food loading apparatus, with a significant reduction in oversight and of the empty bag infeed process and associated labor.
Other features are provided and described in the claims as filed, hereby incorporated by reference.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
The offset stacking distance in one embodiment is at a minimum the length of the lip on the pouches (the lip being defined as the amount extending upwardly from the seal location). It may be understood that tear-out panel 107 is in place during the original charge of the empty bags 10 in the box 100; this panel (in one embodiment the length of the box) is removed prior to the box being placed into the position of
While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and each variation thereof, is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
A. Stand Up Bags Generally
Many varieties of bags for flowable products such as liquids, pastes, granulates, flakes, or powders are known. Some examples are “standup” bags, sachets, tubing bags, paper sacks, and even box-like bags such as milk cartons. The bags can be made from coated paper, plastic sheet, metal foil, or plastic-and-foil laminate. Generally, selection of the bag material is determined by the contents of the bag. Other factors which determine the choice of materials are appearance, ability to stand up when filled and/or partially filled, method in which the bags are shipped, strength requirements, need to recycle, and cost. Most known bags have not been able to sufficiently meet all these requirements. Flexible bags are advantageous because they can be folded extremely flat in their empty state so as to require very little space. The filling of such flexible bags with the product is generally performed in an automated operation. The bag is placed upright with its dispensing opening pointing upwardly to permit a filling nozzle to be inserted thereinto. After the bag has been filled, the dispensing opening is closed by welding, sealing, or a closure.
Conventional standup bags are those with bottom “horizontal” panel gussets, more commonly known as bottom gussets. The gusset is heat-sealed to produce a flexible base on which the bag may stand without support. The base permits the two sidewalls or facewalls to spread at the bottom when the pouch is filled, wherein the bag is a three-panel bag that is self-standing when full or partially full of product heavy enough to bear down on the bottom pane. In most instances, the bottom panel is a separate sheet of flexible material, but some structures fold a single web sheet into a W-shape and heat-seal a base.
Other standup bag structures known in the art employ sidewall folds or side gussets and overlapping flat sheet bases. These standup bags do not stand up as well because they do not have the bottom gusset and have been used more successfully for dry products than for liquids.
Such standup bags are adaptable for packaging of liquids and dry products and are suitable replacement for other types of packaging such as plastic or glass bottles, cans, and boxes. One of the advantages standup bags is that they are environmentally sound, offering source reduction of solid waste ranging from 70% to 90% by both weight and volume. As a result, the use of standup bags reduces the need for recycling landfill, and/or incineration. Another advantage of standup bags is that they offer the use of four to six color graphs for improved shelf appeal and acceptance. Standup bags further offer cost savings due to reduced transportation costs. Unlike the shipping of traditional large plastic empty containers, there is no shipping of air. There is further savings with reduced inventory save space and storage costs for containers. Standup bags take up about 1/80th the volume compared to storing an equal quantity of rigid containers.
In general, standup bags may be classified as one of two types: preformed bags and form-fill-seal bags. Preformed standup bags are made on a separate converting machine and delivered to a packager in ready-to-open, fill-and-close form, while the form-fill-seal bags are fabricated in-line by the packager from flexible roll stock materials on machines that fold the sidewalls and die-cut openings for heat sealing into the bottom section.
B. General Bag Loading and Unloading
Generally described, the bags such as 10 in
The bags are pulled or otherwise moved from the bottom of the stack such as shown in
C. The Bag 10
Reference is now made of
D. Stacking of the Bag 10
Reference is now made to
Furthermore, pressure on the seals can tend to cause them to close, which is also disadvantageous in that downstream loading techniques often rely on an at least partially opened seal.
It may be understood that the offsetting in
However, it should be understood that more than two separate stacking positions (such as is the case in
Therefore, it may be seen that this “offstacking” or “offset stacking” provides an improved means for stacking multiple items.
The Various Elements
-
- 5 Contents of bag
- 50 Suction Cups (typ)
- 10 Stand Up Package (a.k.a. “Bag” or “Pouch”)
- 11 Mouth
- 12 Side Edges (2)
- 14 Side Panels (2)
- 16 Base
- 17 Base Gussets (2)
- 18
- 20 Seal
- 20A, 20B Seal Portions
- 100 Box
- 101 Side Walls
- 102 End Walls
- 105 Side Support Shelves
- 107 Tear-Out Panel
- 110 Feed Hole (exposed upon tear-out of removable panel)
- 200 Next available box
- 300 Next available box
E. The Boxes 100
As noted above, the box-like containers 100 are configured to include a plurality of stacked stand-up packages 10.
Under one embodiment of the present invention, the containers do not include the feed hole 110 when the bags are first loaded into the containers 100; a removable panel (not shown) is in place, which may then be torn out (due to perforations or the like) or otherwise removed just prior to the container being introduced to the apparatus removing and loading the bags. The removable panel would provide support at the bottom of the container 100 during its loading and transporting stages, with the panel being torn out towards the end of its service life.
Under this configuration, once an empty box is sensed, the empty box would be ejected, a new box would be introduced, and the loading process would be continued.
F Feeding of Multiple Boxes 100, 200, 300
Reference is now made to
It may be understood that there is a high need for manual labor involved in known prior art configurations, especially at relatively high bagging rates. However, due to the improvements provided by the invention, once the bags have been boxed, the use of a automated box feed system is possible as part of the present invention. Multiple vertical stacks or infeed lines, or both, of boxes such as 200 and 300 respectively may be used under the present invention. This feeding could be done from any side of the box, from above the box, or even from below.
This is a vast improvement over the prior art; essentially in order to provide a supply of bags to the bagging apparatus (not shown), all that needs to be done is for an operator to tear away strip 107 from the box the size of the feed hole 100 (perforations as known in the art may be provided), and then the box and other similarly prepared boxes may be loaded relative to the bagging apparatus such that once one box is empty, the box is automatically ejected and a new full box is available to feed the bagging apparatus. This is a significant improvement over the known prior art, as this allows for multiple boxes 100, 200, and/or 300 to be loaded for eventual automatic feeding and emptying, with little oversight needed but to make sure the boxes are replenished as needed.
Claims
1. A cartridge for providing sequential access to a plurality of substantially flattened bags, said cartridge including:
- a plurality of flattened, selectively sealable bags configured to lie substantially flat but for a seal location at the substantially same location along each flattened bag thickness, said seal location presenting a bulge being thicker than the nominal thickness of said bag; and
- a dispensing box defining a cavity for accepting said plurality of bags in a stack such that said bags lie substantially flat one atop another along a stack axis substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the substantially flat bags, said cavity having a depth to accept said stack and a rectangular cross section taken having a predetermined length and width, said cavity width generally corresponding to the width of said flattened bags, but said cavity length being greater than the length of said flattened bags a predetermined off-set distance;
- said bags being stacked in a predetermined off-set configuration in the such that the bulge of at least one bag does not align with the bulge of at least one other bag as the bags are stacked within the cavity, thus reducing the potential compounding of the bulges within the stack.
2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of bags are stacked in a configuration which includes a plurality of bag subgroups, each bag subgroup being stacked one atop the other such that each of their bulges are one atop the other, but with each subgroup being offset relative to each vertically adjacent subgroup such that the substantially aligned bulges of one subgroup are also offset relative to the substantially aligned bulges of the other subgroup.
3. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein said box includes a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn.
4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein said box includes a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box.
5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said box includes a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box.
6. A method for providing a cartridge for providing sequential access to a plurality of substantially flattened bags, said method including the steps of;
- providing a plurality of flattened, selectively sealable bags configured to lie substantially flat but for a seal location at the substantially same location along each flattened bag thickness, said seal location presenting a bulge being thicker than the nominal thickness of said bag;
- providing a dispensing box defining a cavity for accepting said plurality of bags in a stack of flattened bags lying substantially flat one atop the other, said cavity having a depth to accept said stack and a rectangular cross section taken having a predetermined length and width, said cavity width generally corresponding to the width of said flattened bags, but said cavity length being greater than the length of said flattened bags a predetermined off-set distance; and
- loading said bags in a stack within said box cavity to provide said cartridge, such that said bags lie substantially flat one atop another along a stack axis substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the substantially flat bags, said loading being conducted such that said bags are stacked in a predetermined off-set configuration in the such that the bulge of at least one bag does not align with the bulge of at least one other bag as the bags are stacked within the cavity, thus reducing the potential compounding of the bulges within the stack.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said plurality of bags are loaded in a stack within said box such that they are stacked in a configuration which includes a plurality of bag subgroups, each bag subgroup being stacked one atop the other such that each of their bulges are one atop the other, but with each subgroup being offset relative to each vertically adjacent subgroup such that the substantially aligned bulges of one subgroup are also offset relative to the substantially aligned bulges of the other subgroup.
8. The cartridge as claimed in claim 7, wherein said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn.
9. The cartridge as claimed in claim 7, wherein said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box.
10. The cartridge as claimed in claim 6, wherein said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box.
11. A method for providing a cartridge at a first location for providing sequential access to a plurality of substantially flattened bags at a second location, said method including the steps of;
- providing a plurality of flattened, selectively sealable bags configured to lie substantially flat but for a seal location at the substantially same location along each flattened bag thickness, said seal location presenting a bulge being thicker than the nominal thickness of said bag;
- providing a dispensing box defining a cavity for accepting said plurality of bags in a stack of flattened bags lying substantially flat one atop the other, said cavity having a depth to accept said stack and a rectangular cross section taken having a predetermined length and width, said cavity width generally corresponding to the width of said flattened bags, but said cavity length being greater than the length of said flattened bags a predetermined off-set distance;
- loading said bags in a stack within said box cavity to provide said cartridge, such that said bags lie substantially flat one atop another along a stack axis substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the substantially flat bags, said loading being conducted such that said bags are stacked in a predetermined off-set configuration in the such that the bulge of at least one bag does not align with the bulge of at least one other bag as the bags are stacked within the cavity, thus reducing the potential compounding of the bulges within the stack;
- transferring said cartridge from said first to said second location; and
- dispensing said bag from said stack in a sequential manner at said second location.
12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said plurality of bags are loaded in a stack within said box such that they are stacked in a configuration which includes a plurality of bag subgroups, each bag subgroup being stacked one atop the other such that each of their bulges are one atop the other, but with each subgroup being offset relative to each vertically adjacent subgroup such that the substantially aligned bulges of one subgroup are also offset relative to the substantially aligned bulges of the other subgroup.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at said first location said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, and wherein at said second location said removable panel is removed prior to the dispensing of said bags at said second location.
14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at said first location said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box, and wherein at said second location said removable panel is removed prior to the dispensing of said bags at said second location.
15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein at said first location said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box, and wherein at said second location said removable panel is removed prior to the dispensing of said bags at said second location.
16. A method for providing a plurality of cartridges at a first location for providing sequential access to a plurality of substantially flattened bags at a second location, said method including the steps of;
- providing a plurality of flattened, selectively sealable bags configured to lie substantially flat but for a seal location at the substantially same location along each flattened bag thickness, said seal location presenting a bulge being thicker than the nominal thickness of said bag;
- providing a dispensing box defining a cavity for accepting said plurality of bags in a stack of flattened bags lying substantially flat one atop the other, said cavity having a depth to accept said stack and a rectangular cross section taken having a predetermined length and width, said cavity width generally corresponding to the width of said flattened bags, but said cavity length being greater than the length of said flattened bags a predetermined off-set distance;
- loading said bags in a stack within said box cavity to provide said cartridge, such that said bags lie substantially flat one atop another along a stack axis substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the substantially flat bags, said loading being conducted such that said bags are stacked in a predetermined off-set configuration in the such that the bulge of at least one bag does not align with the bulge of at least one other bag as the bags are stacked within the cavity, thus reducing the potential compounding of the bulges within the stack;
- providing a plurality of cartridges per the steps above;
- transferring said cartridges from said first to said second location; and
- dispensing bags from said cartridges at said second location by emptying one cartridge at a time by dispensing said bags from said stack in a sequential manner for each cartridge.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said plurality of bags are loaded in a stack within said box to create each cartridge such that they are stacked in a configuration which includes a plurality of bag subgroups, each bag subgroup being stacked one atop the other such that each of their bulges are one atop the other, but with each subgroup being offset relative to each vertically adjacent subgroup such that the substantially aligned bulges of one subgroup are also offset relative to the substantially aligned bulges of the other subgroup.
18. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein at said first location each said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, and wherein at said second location said removable panel is removed prior to the dispensing of said bags at said second location.
19. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein at said first location each said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box, and wherein at said second location said removable panel is removed prior to the dispensing of said bags at said second location.
20. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein at said first location each said box is provided to include a floor including a selectively removable panel configured such that once said panel is removed, the bottommost bag in the stack within said box may be withdrawn, but said floor still includes two side support portions dimensioned to support the weight of said stack within said box, and wherein at said second location said removable panel is removed prior to the dispensing of said bags at said second location.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 26, 2007
Publication Date: Oct 30, 2008
Inventor: Ollie B. Wilson (Newnan, GA)
Application Number: 11/925,192
International Classification: B65B 41/00 (20060101);