Packaging apparatus
OwnerJacob Brinkmaninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A packaging apparatus for packaging a product, said apparatus having a bag magazine containing a number of preformed bags from which bags are separated by a lifting member which lifts each bag at or adjacent to its sealed end; a support device for separating a bag from the magazine and presenting it for opening by a movable gripping and opening device; means for opening the inlet region of the bag by said gripping and opening device, said gripping and opening device transporting the bag onto an outlet, said outlet being configured to grip the inlet region of the bag such that a product can then be ejected into the bag.
Claims26
A packaging apparatus adapted for packaging a block of cheese ejected sideways from a substantially horizontally aligned outlet of a cheese formation apparatus into a bag having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, the outlet positioned over a substantially horizontal support device, said cheese formation apparatus having means to grip a bag when fitted over said outlet, said packaging apparatus comprising a bag fitting apparatus including:
- a bag supply means;
- an actuating means for moving a bag from the bag supply means to the outlet, the actuating means being constructed and the bag supply means being positioned, relative to the outlet such that the actuation means, in moving the bag from the bag supply means to the outlet, rotates the bag substantially 180 degrees about the transverse axis of the bag;
- an opening means for opening the bag;
- and
- a gripping device mounted on the actuating means, the gripping device gripping an inlet region of the opened bag and being capable of fitting the inlet region of the open bag over an outer peripheral surface of said substantially horizontally aligned outlet.
A method of packaging blocks of cheese ejected in predetermined lengths from a substantially horizontally aligned outlet of a cheese formation apparatus involving the steps of:
- positioning a bag having a longitudinal axis and transverse axis in a bag supply means
- opening an inlet to the bag;
- operating gripping means so as to grip said bag in the region of said inlet;
- operating actuating means so as to rotate the bag substantially 180 degrees about the transverse axis of the bag of as to position said opening over a peripheral surface of said substantially horizontally aligned outlet of said cheese formation apparatus;
- and
- releasing said gripping means and moving said gripping means away from the vicinity of said substantially horizontally aligned outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.