Bag-boxing apparatus and method

Abstract

A stack of flexible bags oriented horizontally in a stack station is packaged by first sliding a robot hand horizontally into position around an end portion of the stack with front and rear grabs of the hand aligned with edges of the end portion and another portion of the stack wholly outside the hand. Then the grabs are closed on the edges of the end portion with the front grab positioned inward of the stack from the back grab and the hand is raised and pivoted about a horizontal axis to fold the gripped stack about a fold line adjacent the front grab and to one side of which lies the gripped portion and to the other side of which lies the other portion so that the bag is given a downwardly open U-shape. The back grab is then released and reengaged around the folded stack to press the other portion against the end portion still gripped by the front grab. Then the hand is pivoted into a position with the folded and gripped stack oriented horizontally and the folded and gripped stack is positioned in an upwardly open container. The grabs are released and the hand is lifted out of the container to leave the folded stack therein.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.