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AssigneeKlockner Bartelt, Inc.
InventorsFrederick C. Seiden, Jack E. Plahm, Scott J. Veix, Jerald R. Wiles
Estimating the term…
Pouches in an interconnected strip are advanced edgewise to a cut-off station where the leading pouch is severed from the strip. Prior to being severed, the leading pouch is gripped by a transfer mechanism which lifts the severed pouch upwardly into pouch clamps carried on the opposing inboard runs of two chains adapted to advance the pouch broadwise through a filling section and along a path extending at right angles to the path of the pouch strip. Before being filled, the pouches are opened by shifting portions of the inboard runs of the two chains laterally toward one another and by pulling the side panels of the pouch away from one another with suction cups. The chains are adapted to be simultaneously adjusted in laterally opposite directions and through equal distances to enable the machine to be changed over to run pouches of different width while keeping pouches of all widths centered with respect to a common datum line as the pouches are advanced through the filling section.
A packaging machine comprising means for longitudinally and intermittently advancing an elongated strip of interconnected pouches horizontally and edgewise along a first predetermined path and in an upright plane to a cut-off station, means at said cut-off station for cutting a pouch from the leading end portion of the strip each time the strip dwells, a selectively openable and closable gripper adjacent said cut-off station and operable to grip the leading pouch after such pouch has been advanced into the cut-off station and prior to cutting of the pouch from said strip, a plurality of spaced sets of first and second pouch clamps each adapted to be selectively opened and closed, means for intermittently and horizontally advancing said clamps transversely of said path and for causing a set of first and second clamps to dwell in an open condition and in opposing relation above said cut-off station each time a pouch dwells in said station, means for raising said gripper after the leading pouch has been cut from the strip thereby to cause the gripper to deliver the gripped and severed pouch upwardly and edgewise to the set of clamps dwelling above the cut-off station, and means for closing such clamps and opening said gripper while the clamps are dwelling above the cut-off station, said clamps moving the pouch horizontally and broadwise along a second path extending transversely of said first path during the next advance of said clamps.
A method for cutting pouches from an elongated strip of interconnected pouches and for subsequently advancing the severed pouches, said method comprising the steps of, intermittently advancing the strip horizontally and edgewise along a first predetermined path and in an upright plane to a cut-off station, gripping one portion of the leading pouch of the strip when the strip dwells with the leading pouch disposed in the cut-off station, severing the gripped pouch from the strip at the cut-off station, raising the gripped pouch substantially vertically and edgewise from the cut-off station to a vertically spaced level, gripping the raised pouch along its side margins and then releasing the grip at said one portion of the pouch, and thereafter advancing the pouch broadwise along a generally horizontal path located at said level and extending transversely of said first path while the pouch is gripped along its side margins.
A packaging machine comprising first and second laterally spaced chains having outboard runs and opposed inboard runs all disposed in a generally horizontal plane, means for advancing said chains intermittently and horizontally, pouch clamps secured to and spaced along each of said chains, the clamps on the inboard run of said first chain being paired with and disposed in opposing relation with the clamps on the inboard run of said second chain and coacting with the clamps of the second chain to hold pouches and to advance successive pouches broadwise to an opening station where each pouch dwells momentarily, and means for causing a portion of the inboard run of said first chain to shift laterally toward the inboard run of said second chain at said opening station when each pouch dwells in said station thereby to cause the clamp of the first chain to move toward the opposing clamp of the second chain and assist in opening the pouch in the station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.