A machine for the manufacture and stacking of bags, pouches and the like made from a flattened sheath of a thermoplastic material, comprising:
- a frame;
- upper and lower sheath transporting rollers, the lower roller mounted in place to the frame and the upper roller mounted to one arm of a L-shaped rock arm pivotally mounted to the frame for vertically swinging the upper roller from the lower roller for intermittently advancing the sheath downstream by a predetermined bag length;
- means acting on a second arm of the L-shaped rock arm for intermittently swinging the one arm and upper roller;
- upper and lower welding jaws downstream of the rollers, the upper jaw mounted in place to the frame and the lower jaw slidably mounted to the frame for vertical movement to and from the upper jaw;
- means for intermittently moving the lower jaw in timed relation to the means acting on the second arm of the L-shaped rock arm for opening the jaws and advancing the sheath downstream of the jaws by the predetermined bag length and for closing the jaws on the advanced sheath and welding a closed bottom for a subsequent following sheath to be advanced;
- a stacking table downstream and below the lower jaw for receiving the immediate advanced sheath;
- a blocking shoe downstream and above the lower jaw slidably mounted to the frame for vertical movement to and from the stacking table, the blocking shoe having a depending resilient bar for pressing the immediate advanced sheath to the stacking table and a sheet spring member above the resilient bar extending horizontally toward the upper jaw in a raised position of the blocking shoe, in a lowered position of the blocking shoe the sheet spring member flexing upwardly and tensioning a segment of the immediate advanced sheath pressed against the stacking table extending downstream from the lower jaw to the resilient bar;
- means for intermittently moving the blocking shoe in timed relation to the closing and opening of the jaws;
- cutting means mounted in place to the frame between the upper jaw and the blocking shoe for cutting the immediate advanced sheath along the tensioned segment and forming an individual bag with an open top, the cutting means having a blade mounted at an angle to an intermittently driven endless belt;
- a retaining shoulder on the lower jaw extending downstream toward the blocking shoe and having a transversely extending groove in a top side with a downstream edge stepped below an upstream edge for accommodating the angled blade in the raised position of the lower jaw;
- means for intermittently driving the endless belt in timed relation to the raising of the lower jaw and the lowering of the blocking shoe for running the angled blade through the stepped edge groove and cutting the tensioned segment and forming an individual bag;
- a resilient pad mounted to the stacking table below the shoulder on the lower jaw and extending downstream and outwardly therefrom for engaging the sheet spring member concurrent with the cutting of the tensioned segment and the unflexing of the sheet spring member in the lowered position of the blocking shoe;
- and
- a braking means upstream of the rollers having a countershoe mounted in place to the frame and a braking roller mounted above the countershoe to a lever pivotally mounted to the frame coaxial with the pivotal mounting of the L-shaped rock arm to the frame, the lever abutting the L-shaped rock arm and swingable thereby in one vertical direction for moving the braking roller out of contact with the sheath concurrent with the downward swinging of the upper rollers to the lower roller, and a spring means mounted at one end to the frame and engaging the lever arm at an opposite end for urging the braking roller toward the counter shoe upon disengagement of the lever arm from the rock arm.