US2647680A - Bag assembly - Google Patents

Description

c. w. VOGT BAG ASSEMBLY Aug. 4, 1953 Filed July 13, 1948 hffizyi MW M M ATTORNEYS INVENTOR 'kwence Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED'K 2,647,680 BeGi'A ssMB -Yi GlareneeaWi Vogt; mimlklooi l Application 194s, s ria solssniw 90mins (o1. '229 =-53 This inventiOn relates to bags forthe storage; protection, shipment; and/or; sale of various ma, terials, and has for itsmain ob'jeietfa bag; construction and assemblywhich facilitate" the'supporting, opening, filling, closing and seal'ing-of the bags as theylare advanced in successioni'to and past successive stations.

Asan important feature of the inventionj'th'ebags are connected together inseriesr'by'one or more flexible; strips ofxpapjer 'or;other*suitable material, and which stripsmay be'employed;- to effect the advancement and/or opening, of'the bags and/or to assist-in holding --the'baigs'f0pEn" forvfilling. They also aid'in the closingand'seal ing of the bags. 7 a

The invention is particularly "applicab'la'to bags formed of or lined-with non-porous,-heat-' scalable material, whereby the ibags'gwhen filled and closed may be hermetically -seale'd""by-the; application of heat and-pressure. In-"ce'rtain embodiments of the inventionthere are included pairs of bags which are connected together-ator adjacent to their open ends; as disclosed and claimed in my application Seria1"No .i'30;647, filedj June*2, 1948, now Pa'tentyNo. 2,628,013; of which this application is a continuation-impart: Such pairs of bags may be supportedby-the connect ing part during filling, closing and sealing; ass-sis:

.closed in my application Serial No,- 35,;4d5'yfiledf- June 26; 1948, of which thisapplication is also a continuationfln-part: The invention isal'so applicable to bags which are"connectedftogether" in series orv as a chain; but not-in transverse In its preferred form; and esen -important feature of my invention,'- the,stripf-jwhich cong nects the bags in pairs-atior adjacent totheir open ends, also serves to connect thapairs of bags together in-series or as a chain; This strip; may be foldedas aninvertedV"along a* center=- line, so' that the strip may restun,- be -guided-by;- and moved along a horizontal support w t the: bags of each pair on opposite sides thereof; 7

As a further feature of-my invention, and'to facilitate the opening of the-bags, two-separate 1 connecting strips are employed, each being at tached to the outer walloffone"baggpfeach-pair at or adjacent to the openendlg' Thesee ni-ie'cting strips 'may be employed not-only to pt-I-HfifDrfiid in pulling or feedingthe bags alongto successive stations for filling, closinggsealing, etc but 'their main purpose is to pull the bagfl mouths' open before said pagsrea'ch the'filling statiomj-y when su h. p i s; f e ing psre:

used, the bag mouths oiea'ch pair I need' not be formsrv connected by; an inverted V'-shapedstrip as above described; but the two bags-of eachpair may be connected'in any other suitable manner at -or' near their *open ends; so that they may be suspended on a-supportingbar, or held upright; or otherwise supported during filling, closmg; and sealin'g -F*or' instance-; the connecting means between-the two bags of-each pairmay-be a 'SDOfiSGfiiT'bBWEGII the bag walls, andofa characte'r-whioh 'will permit-thelater separation of the two bags'of the" pa-i t l The connecting strip or strips'betweenone bag and-'the-'nex-tsuccessive one maybe permanently glued or otherwise secured to the bag walls;

- and may be cuter-torn in two between successive-bags=after-filling, closing and sealing; but

preferably the strips are secured to-the bag walls by heat activated= adhesive material, whereby after the strips have served their purpose the temperature at the sealing-area maylbe raised to the-required d'egree -to soften the adhesive and thereby free-the individual filled and sealed bags from thestripsfor permit-the strips to be pulled' off; If desired; such removed strips may be reused -for-connecting together another series ofbags-,=-0r used for sealing bag mouths after fill jngy i In -the:- accompanying drawings I have illus trated somewhat diagrammatically various diifer ent embodiments of my invention. In these drawings?- a ,t i r. l

Fig.' "1 is a perspective'viewshowing aplurality of'pairsof connected bags, one pair of bags beingi ini-fill-ing ipo'sitioria-nd'another pair shown-as cIOSed aft'eR-beingfilled;-' i 1 Eigfizzis a: section "of a=form somewhat similan to thatlshown insEigli 1 but in which only one-row oatbags islconnected in =series.- Figsi'. e-zland-firare perspective views 'of other- Fig-:6 is ,a-j'se'ction' through a further form,Vin-' which the-;bags lie endwise ofithe chain instead of-Ferossyvise:and:v a r I is; a 5 somewhat diagrammatic top; plan ndizcating; how, bag opening is automaticallyreifected'.

In Fthamonstructmn; shownin Eig: 1 there are pmvidedgqa;plurality; of pairs of bags A: and B; whi hirmay; bel-seotionsofv tubingof th'ermo plastic materialg and withztheupper ends of the twa-sbags iniand EB- 01?! each' ipa'ir [secured to oppos l site-sides ofwa strip 0 wh'ichis bent *along a reenterline extendinglengthwise thereof; and to -inverte'd iv shape or u shape. Thus the bag pairs may -be-suspendedunsupported byplacing this strip on a horizontal bar or other support In along which the bags may slide. This support It may be a traveling metal band which moves endwise to advance the pairs of bags from one position to another.

In carrying out the shaped strip C which present invention the V- connects together the two bags of each pair is a long strip and connects the bag pairs in series to form a chain of bag pairs. Only three pairs of bags of such a chain are shown as connected to the strip C, but in commercial practice there might be a very large number of such bag pairs connected in series.

As a further important feature of my present invention the bags are in series by strips D substantially parallel to the strip C. The strips D are attached to the outer walls of the bags, and opposite to the walls which are attached to the strip C, and are disposed at or adjacent to the upper open ends of the bags. The bottoms of the bags may be free from each other, but are preferably connected in series. In the form shown in Fig. 1 the bag bodies have been formed of tubing, and a bottom strip folded to U-shape and adhesively secured to the bag bottoms to close and seal the latter and to connect them in series. As pointed out in my prior application Serial No. 301647, filed June 2, 1948, now Patent No. 2,628,013, the bag bodies may be made of polyvinylidene chloride (Saran), and the strips may be made of paper coated with an adhesive which becomes tacky below the temperature at which the Saran will autogenously weld or seal. v

In using the bag assembly shown in Fig. l, the series of bag pairs are supported on the bar or other stationary or movable member 10, and are fed along in any suitable manner, preferably step by step in respect to the filling means. As shown, such filling means includes a pair of spouts or nozzles H which may lead from any suitable source of supply, with the usual control valves, measuring. devices, etc. Such nozzles may have conical shaped ends or flanges or fins to facilitate the spreading open of the bag mouths. If desired, the nozzles may move downwardly into the bags before filling, and then up out of them to permit the next successive pair of bags to be brought to filling position.

In starting the operation, the pair of bags bee low the nozzles may be pulled open by hand, or in any other suitable manner. As the charge of liquid, powder, or material in other form is delivered into the pair of bags which are in filling position, such charge will further open up the bags. As the filling is taking place, the contents of the bags acts to further open up the bags, and as the outer walls of these bags are connected to the outer walls of the next successive pair of bags, this spreading apart of the outer walls of the pair being filled will act through the strips D to open up the lower ends of the next pair of bags. Thus, when a filled pair of bags is moved from beneath the nozzles, the next pair of bags will be brought beneath them and will have been automatically opened by the spreading apart of the strips D. Thus, the strips D serve as bag openers as well as bag advancing means, and they strengthen and reinforce the bag bottoms during and after filling, and insure against tearing of these seals and make the bags leak-proof and sift-proof. From Fig. '7 it will be seen how the filling of one pair of bags acts to open up the next successive pair.

Beyond the filling nozzles there may beprovided a pair of rollers also connected together' I 2 which engage the outer surfaces of the strips D and press them toward each other and thus close the bags. The rollers may be heated, so that in closing the bags the heat is transmitted through the strips D and hermetically seals the bags, if the walls of the latter be of thermoplastic material. The rollers I2 may be merely bag closers and sealers, and freely rotatable, in which case the strips may be pulled along solely by other rollers or by other pulling means beyond the rollers l2. If the rollers I2 be merely for closing and sealing, they may be replaced by non-rotatable heaters such as heated plates or shoes resiliently pressed toward each other and against the upper ends of the bags, to close and seal them.

- The strips D may be connected to the bag walls by heat activated adhesive, so that when heat is applied'to'seal the bag mouths this heat will soften the adhesive on the strips D and permit the strips to be pulled off from the bags, or permit the filled bags to slip down and away from said strips. When heat activated adhesive is used on the strips D, the strips E need not connect the bottoms of the bags, or if they do, cutting means may be provided for serving such strips between successive bags.

Although it is preferable that the bags be connected in pairs, it is not essential to my invention in its broader aspect. In Fig. 2 I have shown how a single row of bags B may be connected to strips D and C, provided the last mentioned strips be of sufficiently stiff material so that the fold will not open up by the weight of the bag and its contents; or if the bag be supported primarily by a horizontal wall or shelf 13 along which the bags may slide, or supported by a conveyor for supporting and carrying along the filled bags. In this figure I have shown the bottom of a bag closed by folding over the bottom end, as is common in bag constructions. Thus the connecting strip E shown in Fig. 1 need not be employed.

In the bag constructions above referred to, a strip C is employed which acts to support the bags. This is not essential in the broader aspects of my invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the two bags A and B of each pair are connected together adjacent to their upper ends by a spot or small area F, preferably of self-sticking or latex type of adhesive. The two bags of each pair will rest upon opposite sides of a horizontal support such as the bar [0, and the pairs of bags are connected together in series by strips D. These strips may be attached to the outer walls of the bags adjacent to the open end by heat activated or selfsticking adhesive, and preferably in small areas G. In this form the bags are shown as made of thermoplastic material and the lower ends or bottoms closed by heat sealing along a narrow area H. It is not necessary that one pair of bags be connected to the other, other than by the strips D, but if desired, they may be connected adjacent to their lower ends by short strips K secured in place by adhesive, and readily removable.

The bags as shown in Fig. 3 may be closed and heat sealed after filling, in the same way as described in connection with Fig. l, and the filling of one pair of bags will act to open up the next succeeding pair by reason of the connecting strips D.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a construction quite similar to that in Fig. 1, except that the bags are of the gusset type, in which opposite Walls are infolded. In this form I have shown the bags Bf assecured to the strip C at a substantial distame. below th'el foldrlingrinsteadiof *atfther fold line, as in Fig. 1. Bags of'thiszcliaractermaybe fed along to successive-v stations by pulling on the strip C instead of onside strips such as D, shown in riser, and the "closing andsealing ofi the' bags after filling may be effected by applying heat and pressure. directly to the outer walls of the bags to press'them against the strip C. Bag pairs; may be filled and sealed beforepriafter severance from the chain.

In Figs. 1, 2'and'3; "the stripssD are employed for pulling the bag mouths openti In some. constructions other means may the employed: for opening the bags. In Fig: 5'1. have shown? bags similar in all respects" to those shown in. Fig. 4, except that comparatively "'stiiff label's? 'L are secured to the outerwalls oftheb'ag andex'terld to some distance above the open ends of the bags. In feeding the bags along, the upper edges of these labels may engage guides which will push the bag mouths open before they reach the filling nozzles. The bags when filled may be removed from the supporting strip C by applying heat to loosen the heat-activated adhesive, and the labels L may, if desired, be folded over the closed upper ends of the bags, although when the bags are formed of thermoplastic material they may be readily closed and sealed by applying heat and pressure to the outer surfaces of these labels.

In the various constructions hereinbefore described, the bag pairs are connected together in series, with the upper ends of each row of bags substantially in alignment. The bag pairs or single bags may be connected in endwise rather than edgewise alignment. In Fig. 6 I have shown pairs of bags A and B connected together in pairs, and the successive pairs spaced apart endwise rather than edgewise. The two bags of each pair are preferably connected together by a spot seal near their open ends, and the bags can later be separated by peeling, the same as in Fig. 3, but the connecting strips D extend lengthwise of the bags rather than transversely thereof.

The connecting strips D may each be supported by pairs of rollers I 4, the lower one of which may be heated. The rollers may be intermittently or continuously rotated to lift successive pairs of bags to the desired elevation where the pairs of bags may be automatically pulled loose from the strips, deposited on a support such as the bar It, filled and sealed.

The bags A and B need not be connected in pairs, as the bags may be in a single row on one strip D and they may have closure flaps. Thus, as each bag is raised to the proper point it may be filled, the flap closed, and the bag liberated from the strip by the pulling of the latter between the rollers, so that the filled and closed bags may fall into a receptacle or onto a conveyor.

Where two longitudinal tapes are used, they are preferably laterally offset, so that in rolling the chain of bags the strips are not superposed, and a firmer roll may be formed. The strip or strips may serve its or their main purpose during the making of the bags to facilitate taking them from the bag machine, or to facilitate packing or rolling of a chain of the bags for shipment. The strip may be removed before the bags are filled.

Various other forms may be employed, in which bags or bag pairs are fed along by means of one or more strips or tapes adhesively secured thereto, and to filling, closing and sealing stations.

In Figs. 1 and 3 I have shown the strips D provided with perforati'onsi-lii- These may serve; to receive prongs or teethaofia. feed means lfor pulle ing the tapes-and ch'ains of bagssalong: during-or between; filling, closing, and?sealing-operations; and if theltapesections are torbe leftEontheibagsi said-iholes provider weak points at which: the-tapes or" strips may be broken;- out; or easilytorn in 5W0;

Having" thusdescribed? my invention-g =whati- I claim as new and desire-to secure by 'Iletter's Patentisz- 1. As anarticle of manufacture; a-stripofsheet materialadapted to be bent along a line extend ing lengthwise there'of to form an? inverted" V; and -a plurality of pairs of bags" having portions at their open ends connected tosaid strip-"along: the length thereof, the two bagsof each pair being on opposite sides of said line.

2. As an article of manufacture, a strip of sheet material adapted to be bent along a line extending lengthwise thereof to form an inverted V, and a plurality of bags having portions at their open ends connected to said strip along the length thereof and arranged in pairs, the two bags of each pair being in juxtaposed positions on opposite sides of said line, whereby upon supporting said strip substantially horizontally, said bags will be suspended from said strip with their open ends uppermost for filling.

3. As an article of manufacture, a strip of sheet material adapted to be bent along a line extending lengthwise thereof to form an inverted V, a plurality of bags having their open ends connected to said strip along the length thereof, and means independent of said strip for connecting each bag to an adjacent one.

4. As an article of manufacture, a strip of sheet material adapted to be bent along a, line extending lengthwise thereof to form an inverted V, a plurality of bags having their open ends connected to said strip along the length thereof and arranged in pairs, the two bags of each pair being on opposite sides of said line, and means independent of said strip for connecting one bag of each pair to the adjacent bag of another pair.

5. As an article of manufacture, a strip of sheet material adapted to be bent along a line extending lengthwise thereof to form an inverted V, a plurality of bags of thermoplastic material each having one side wall at its open end connected to said strip, and a separate strip connected to each bag adjacent to the open end on the side wall oipposite to that connected to the first mentioned s up.

6. As an article of manufacture, a strip of sheet material adapted to be bent along a line extending lengthwise thereof to form an inverted V, a plurality of bags of thermoplastic material each having one side wall at its open end connected to said strip, the bags being ar-- ranged in pairs along the length of said strip, and the two bags of each pair being on opposite sides of said line, and a pair of separate strips each connecting together in series one bag of each pair.

7. An article, according to claim 1, wherein the bags are connected to the strip with their top edges below the top of the strip to provide flap material for the bags.

8. An article, according to claim 1, wherein the outer sides of the bags of each pair are provided with relatively stiff material secured there- ]go and extending above the top edges of the ags.

9. As an article of manufacture, a plurality I of pairs of bags, each pair of bags having inner opposed side walls, outer side walls and open ends, means detachably connecting the inner opposed side walls of each pair of bags together and holding the inner side walls thereof in face to face relation with the open ends of the bags facing in the same direction, the connecting means being located adjacent to said open ends of the pair of bags, and strips of flexible material detachably connecting the outer side walls of the bags of different pairs together in a series and joining the pairs into a chain of pairs of bags in which the open ends of all of the bags face in the same direction, said strips being connected to said outer side walls of said pairs of bags adjacent to the open ends of said bags, said strips serving to advance said chain of bags to present the pairs of bags successively to a filling position and to open said bags by movement of said strips away from each other.

CLARENCE W. VOGT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,217,818 Peterson Feb. 27, 1917 2,015,972 Sodergren Oct. 1, 1935 2,244,282 Bergstein June 3, 1941 2,280,601 Otter Apr. 21, 1942 2,297,375 Vogt Sept. 28, 1942 2,299,751 Huffman Oct. 27, 1942 2,307,902 Vogt et a1 Jan. 12, 1943 2,332,638 Heywood Oct. 26, 1943 2,338,922 Fleming Jan. 11, 1944

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