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US 11,246,336 B2Granted
Folding station of a packaging apparatus and system
AssigneeMpi Corporation
InventorsMark W. Holderman, Gregory A. Russell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The technology described herein generally relates to an automated packaging apparatus and system that packages loose particles into a conical container as well as the final folded packages. More specifically, loose plant matter, such as crumbled dried leaves, are supplied to successive paper cones. The apparatus packs the crumbled leaves into the cones, closes the wide top portion of the cone into a precise shape, and then runs a quality control check to ensure that the final filled cone meets preset specifications.
Claims16
A folding station comprising:
- a folding rod having a proximal end and a distal end, a folding tip connected to the distal end of the folding rod, a folding rod actuator connected to the proximal end of the folding rod, a plurality of folding fingers, and at least one folding finger actuator;
- wherein each folding finger is connected to at least one of the at least one folding finger actuator;
- wherein the plurality of folding fingers include a first folding finger and a second folding finger;
- wherein each folding finger includes a recess;
- wherein the recess of the first folding finger mirrors the recess of the second folding finger;
- wherein the folding tip further comprises an exterior circumferential surface and an axial pin;
- and
- wherein the folding tip and the folding fingers are arranged such that when the at least one folding finger actuator is actuated to bring the folding fingers together, the recess of each of the folding fingers applies pressure to an exterior surface of the axial pin.
5 more elements
A folding station comprising:
- a folding rod having a proximal end and a distal end, a folding tip connected to the distal end of the folding rod, a folding rod actuator connected to the proximal end of the folding rod, at least two folding fingers operably connected to at least one folding finger actuator such that said at least one folding finger actuator is adapted to move the folding fingers toward and away from one another, a die, and a cone support;
- wherein a first folding finger of the at least two folding fingers includes a distal edge and a first finger recess formed in the distal edge, a second folding finger of the at least two folding fingers includes a distal edge and a second finger recess formed in the distal edge, and the first folding finger and the second folding finger are positioned such that when the folding fingers are brought together, the first finger recess at least partially eclipses the second finger recess and a fold hole traversing the first folding finger and the second folding finger is formed by the first finger recess and the second finger recess;
- wherein said die includes:
- a first clamping segment having a top, a bottom, a first contact surface, and a groove in said first contact surface;
- a second clamping segment having a top, a bottom, a second contact surface, and a groove in said second contact surface;
- wherein the groove in the first contact surface and the groove in the second contact surface are formed such that when the first contact surface contacts the second contact surface, the groove on the first contact surface and the groove on the second contact surface form a cavity between the first clamping segment and the second clamping segment, and wherein said cavity has a distal end at the tops of the first and second clamping segments and a proximal end at the bottoms of the clamping segments and forms a passage from the distal end of the cavity through the clamping segments to the proximal end of the cavity;
- wherein the cone support includes:
- a cone support bottom, and a cone support actuator;
- wherein the cone support bottom is operably connected to the support actuator such that the support actuator is configured to move the cone support bottom toward and away from the die;
- wherein the folding tip is oriented above a location where the fold hole is formed by the first folding finger and the second folding finger, the location where the fold hole is formed by the first folding finger and the second folding finger is located above the cavity, and the cavity is located above the cone support bottom;
- and
- wherein the folding tip, the location where the fold hole is formed, the distal end of the cavity, the proximal end of the cavity, and the cone support bottom are all aligned along a common axis.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.