EP0284451A1 - Method and device for the automatic filling of bags with articles arriving from a checking station - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for packing articles in bags, at a check-out desk of a self-service retail store, for example. It comprises, downstream of said check-out desk, a reserve of bags in the form of a stack of vertically stacked bags, with their side provided with handles and forming the opening, oriented upwardly, means for guiding a bag lying at the top of the stack, from an inactive position against the stack towards an active, open position, separated and detached from the stack, a conveyor lying from a zone plumb with said stack and terminating at an exit station, said conveyor allowing the bottom of the bag to rest thereon when the bag is full of articles introduced through its upper opening, said conveyor being associated with means for controlling its displacement and each face of a bag being connected to the opposite face of the adjacent bag by a detachable point of connection.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for packaging articles assembled successively in one or more bags such as plastic bellows bags provided with gripping handles and of known type.

This device is intended to allow automatic or semi-automatic integration of products which are delivered successively and one by one at the exit of a control station and which must be evacuated being preferably collected in individual bags.

The invention relates more precisely to a device intended to equip check-out counters in self-service stores or outlets.

We know that at points of sale, in particular of the supermarkets or other type, known as "self-service", the buyer who has made his choice goes to a box and places his products or purchases on a tray, preferably on a conveyor which allows them to be stored and moved forward as the check progresses.

The service staff at the cash desk picks up the objects individually and after carrying out the accounting operations, places these objects (having been debited) on an inclined plane allowing the buyer to collect them individually and to ensure at his discretion bagging.

However, the recovery by the buyer of his various purchases, of various formats and weights, constitutes a slow operation and represents a bottleneck in the evacuation of products after control at the checkouts.

This problem presents itself in all the more delicate conditions that the debit operation, that is to say the calculation of the sum to be charged to the account to be paid by the customer, is today automated with the implementation optical or opto-electronic reading devices, in particular so-called "barcode" systems.

Under these conditions the accounting, that is to say the reading of the prices and the transfer to the customer's file is done under extremely fast conditions so that the objects accumulate at the exit of the box; and as long as the buyer is devoid of manual skill, there is a risk of losing a significant time allocated to the evacuation of objects to allow the purchases of the next buyer to be accounted for.

The provision of individual bags to buyers is far from solving the problem; indeed these bags must be opened beforehand and the buyer must therefore proceed with the operation of holding the bag open with one hand while with the other he strives to fill it as well as possible; he must consider proceeding to the payment of these purchases, before or after the evacuation of the objects.

We are therefore witnessing a source of considerable delay which penalizes the performance of checkouts in a self-service commercial installation; this penalty affecting service personnel, whose working time is thus frozen by the idle time allocated to the evacuation of objects to allow them to serve the next customer; and this downtime also penalizes people whose wait at the cash desks is thus increased.

There is therefore a need to automate or at least accelerate the evacuation of objects or purchases and generally of consumer purchases at the checkout of a self-service point of sale so that objects can be delivered in units grouped together in a container and easy to grasp.

• a) on dispose au poste de conditionnement une réserve de sacs empilés et formant un matelas compacté ; en engageant sur deux tiges parallèles latérales les perforations prévus sur les anses des sacs, chaque face d'un sac étant prévue en contact de solidarisation avec la face ou sac voisin par un moyen de solidarisation détachable tel qu'une zone d'encollage, point de colle ou fine languette de matière, les sacs empilés constituant une réserve importante permettant de débiter les sacs individuellement au fur et à mesure des besoins ;
• b) on sépare un sac de tête du matelas et on amène ce sac de tête en position d'ouverture et ce remplissage, les deux faces du sac respectivement étant séparé et baillant de façon à permettre l'insertion commode par l'ouverture supérieure ainsi rendue libre des objets
• c) on déplace le sac une fois rempli vers un poste de sortie apte à recevoir le sac rempli ainsi amené à la disposition du consommateur qui reprend ses achats emballés ;
• d) le sac évacué entraîne dans son mouvement une face du sac suivant qui est ainsi amené à son tour en position de remplissage, et dans l'attraction ultérieure correspondant à la poursuite du mouvement du sac évacué, le point de solidarisation détachable se rompt et les deux sacs sont alors séparés, le sac évacué aboutissant au poste de sortie tandis qu'un nouveau sac peut recevoir les objets qui sont ultérieurement comptabilisés.

The invention responds to this concern and relates to a process for packaging articles, in particular at the retail level, the selected articles being collected in plastic bags provided with grip handles,
characterized by the succession of the following operations:

• a) there is at the packaging station a reserve of bags stacked and forming a compacted mattress; by engaging on two lateral parallel rods the perforations provided on the handles of the bags, each side of a bag being provided in securing contact with the neighboring face or bag by a detachable securing means such as a gluing zone, point glue or a thin strip of material, the stacked bags constituting a large reserve making it possible to cut the bags individually as and when required;
• b) a head bag is separated from the mattress and this head bag is brought into the open position and this filling, the two sides of the bag respectively being separated and yawning so as to allow convenient insertion through the upper opening as well made free of objects
• c) the bag is moved once filled to an exit station capable of receiving the filled bag thus brought to the disposal of the consumer who resumes his packaged purchases;
• d) the evacuated bag causes in its movement one face of the following bag which is thus brought in its turn to the filling position, and in the subsequent attraction corresponding to the continuation of the movement of the evacuated bag, the detachable securing point breaks and the two bags are then separated, the evacuated bag ending at the exit station while a new bag can receive the objects which are subsequently counted.

In addition, the invention relates to a device for packaging articles collected successively in bags, such as plastic bellows bags and provided with gripping handles, the device being suitable for equipping a control and evacuation station. of items, such as a checkout at a retail outlet to allow bags to be bagged out of control and for disposal, and the device is characterized by what it comprises downstream of said control station a reserve of bags in the form of a mattress of bags stacked vertically and having their side provided with gripping handles and conforming the opening, oriented upwards, the device further comprising means for guiding a bag located at the head of the mattress, from an inactive position against the mattress to an active and open position separate and detached from the mattress, the two sides of the yawning bag in the open and filling position, and the device also comprises a conveyor such as an endless belt disposed from an area directly above said mattress and leading to an exit station, said conveyor being provided horizontally and in contact with the bottom of the bag or at a distance allowing said bottom to rest on the conveyor when the bag is loaded with articles introduced through its upper opening, said conveyor being associated with means for controlling its movement making it possible to ensure the movement of the bag d since its opening and filling position towards a discharge position at the end of said conveyor.

• La figure 1 représente une vue schématique et en élévation latérale du principe de fonctionnement du dispositif selon l'invention en montrant quatre phases successives du fonctionnement de ce dispositif.
• La figure 2 représente une vue en perspective avec arrachage partiel d'une caisse desservant un point de vente en libre-service et équipée de deux dispositifs de conditionnement selon l'invention en position jumelée.
• La figure 3 représente une vue générale en perspective du dispositif de conditionnement réalisé conformément à la présente invention.
• La figure 4 représente une vue de détail montrant l'empilement des sacs dans le cadre du dispositif selon l'invention tandis que,
• La figure 5 représente la même vue, un sac ayant été amené en position d'ouverture et étant en cours de remplissage.
• Les figures 6A et 6B sont deux vues du taquet équipant la broche de blocage.
• La figure 7 représente un schéma en plan de l'empilement des sacs.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows and which is given in relation to an embodiment presented by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the appended drawings.

• Figure 1 shows a schematic view in side elevation of the operating principle of the device according to the invention showing four successive phases of the operation of this device.
• FIG. 2 represents a perspective view with partial cutaway of a box serving a self-service point of sale and equipped with two packaging devices according to the invention in the paired position.
• FIG. 3 represents a general perspective view of the packaging device produced in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 4 represents a detail view showing the stacking of the bags within the framework of the device according to the invention while,
• Figure 5 shows the same view, a bag having been brought into the open position and being filled.
• Figures 6A and 6B are two views of the cleat fitted to the locking pin.
• Figure 7 shows a plan diagram of the stack of bags.

According to all of the figures, it can be seen that the device comprises a reserve of bags stacked and forming a compacted mattress 1 of bags of known type.

These bags are for example made of synthetic material and are of the "bellows" type and they comprise two upper gripping handles 3.3 ′.

The handles 3.3 'have perforations 4.4' which allow the engagement of the latter on two lateral rods in upper positions respectively 5 and 5 '.

The bags are stacked making up a large reserve making it possible to cut the bags individually as and when required; their number can reach five hundred.

As can be seen in the various figures, as the device is used, a head bag is separated from the rear mattress and it is brought into the open and filling position, the two sides of the bag respectively 6 and 6 'being separated and yawning so as to allow convenient insertion by the upper opening thus made free of the objects 7,7'.

To this end, and as can be seen in FIG. 1, each side of a bag is in securing contact with the face of the neighboring bag by a detachable securing means consisting for example of a gluing area, a point of glue or a thin strip of material (references 8,9 figures 1 and 7)

The detachable fastening means is exactly calibrated so as to allow the drive of the face of the bag called 10 by the face 11 of the evacuated bag, the two faces 10 and 11 being initially one against the other.

The detachable fastening means is calibrated so as to resist the tensile force necessary to ensure the simple separation of the faces of the subsequent bag so as to obtain the opening effect of the bag; but when the subsequent bag is open, the resistance of the subsequent bag increases (because it itself remains integral by its rear face of the mattress), and the securing means 8 yields while ensuring the detachment of the downstream bag 12 in the course of evacuation relative to the upstream bag 13.

The displacement of the bag 12 (FIG. 1) is obtained by putting into action a lower conveyor belt 14 driven on the end cylinders 15 and 16 resting on rollers or intermediate rollers 17,18,19 etc ...

The conveyor belt 14 leaves from the filling station 20 corresponding to the positioning of the bag brought into the open and filling position; and the conveyor 14 is able to bring the bag when filled to an exit station consisting for example of a succession of idle rollers, of known type respectively 21,22,23 able to receive the bag once filled and ending its stroke , being made available to the consumer who thus resumes their packaged purchases.

The conveyor belt 14 is located immediately below the mattress of the bags 1 suspended on the rest rods 5 and 5 ', so that when the bag is filled, the weight of the objects, due to the flexibility and elasticity of the material from which the bag is made, come to rest on the conveyor belt 14.

It is understood that when the bag is filled the conveyor belt can be put into action and the filled bag comes off, the upper straps or gripping handles separating from the rods 5.5 'while the evacuated bag causes in its movement a face the next bag which is thus in turn brought into the filling position; in the subsequent pulling corresponding to the continuation of the movement of the evacuated bag, the detachable securing point 8 breaks and the two bags are then separated, the evacuated bag 12 ending at the exit while the bag 13 can receive the objects which are subsequently counted.

The setting in motion of the conveyor belt on these maneuvering rollers can be easily controlled for example by a simple pedal 27 available to service personnel; the operator can thus as soon as a bag is filled, and while keeping his hands free, automatically control the evacuation of this bag, thus bringing the following bag into the active filling position under equally automatic conditions.

To ensure that the mattress of empire bags 1 remains compressed in order to therefore ensure its compacted position and to prevent the bags from coming off and being released in an uncontrolled manner, the entire stack of bags is mounted on a locking pin 23.

This pin 23 is engaged in the holes or perforations which are provided in concordance and on the ears 24 arranged on the upper edge of the side face 6 of a bag (Figures 4 and 6A, 6B). This ear 24 is separated from the corresponding face 6 by a line of weakness 25 which allows the separation of the face 6 relative to the ear 24 which remains blocked on the pin 23.

The immobilization of the ears 24 stacked on the spindle 23 is ensured by an end cleat 26 formed at least partially of a cylinder segment and this cleat 26 is articulated at 27 at the end of the spindle and can thus pass from 'A collinear position relative to the pin 23 and in the extension of the latter to allow the engagement of the openings and the fitting of the ears 24; after which the cleat 26 is brought into the transverse locking position and it thus ensures that the stack of bags is maintained in its compacted position.

FIG. 2 represents an overall view of an exit station, for example a cash box equipping a self-service point of sale and in which the automatic packaging system according to the invention is integrated.

In the present case, it will be noted that the conditioning station includes two paired devices.

Pairing two devices side by side has many advantages. Firstly, it allows the filling operation to be continued and, consequently, the flow of objects to the cash register during the time interval corresponding to the evacuation of a bag and the bringing of the subsequent bag to the open position. .

So the operator always has an open bag available.

According to another embodiment, the duality of evacuation devices would make it possible to assign the two devices each to a type of product; one can imagine for example that each of the devices receives a bag comprising particular characteristics for example resistance, forming, etc. which would make it possible to assign to each of the devices a particular vocation, one of the automatic packaging devices preferably receiving the light objects while the other (equipped with more resistant bags) would receive heavier objects.

In the example of FIG. 2, it can be seen that the assembly includes an upstream conveyor belt 30 on which the buyer deposits his products in bulk, this carpet serving as a storage station and at the same time for successive movements of the objects towards the station. accounting 31; at this station, the service personnel operates the automatic reading of the objects and the accounting operations can thus be carried out under particularly rapid conditions, the encrypted data being for example displayed on display means (not shown here).

And we see that immediately downstream are positioned the two stations or automatic conditioning devices respectively 32 and 32 'each comprising, under the conditions which have been previously described, a lower conveyor belt 14, the rollers described a lower conveyor belt 14, the rollers receivers at the exit station where the customer can resume shopping by simply grabbing the bags in which they are packaged. In Figure 2 and for clarity of the drawings the packaging stations are shown empty of bags.

According to an important characteristic of the invention, the rods 5.5 'for guiding and storing the bags (stacked and suspended by their handles 3.3' threaded by their perforations 4.4 'on said rods) are inclined downwards towards their free end, thus facilitating the sliding of the handles of the called bag from its storage position to its open position or filling station, the terminal part of each rod in a horizontal direction.

The bag blocking pin 23 is shorter than the inclined part of the rods 5.5 ′ so that the reserve of the stacked bags is maintained on this inclined zone.

Each bag called by the departure of the evacuated bag therefore slides by its handles on the inclined course of the rods, the detachable ear 24 remaining locked in place after rupture of the line of weakness 25 (FIG. 6A).

The material bridge 8 joining the evacuated bag to the called bag indeed resists the weak antagonistic friction force encountered by the handles sliding on the inclined plane constituted by the inclined part of the rods 5.5 ′.

When the handles 3.3 'arrive on the horizontal end part of the rods 5.5', the sliding effect helped by the slope ceases and beyond the threshold constituted by the transition of the inclined planes towards the horizontal part, the opposite resistance by the displacement of the handles increases; and the material bridges 8 are calibrated and torred so as to resist the low tensile force exerted on the handles sliding on the inclined rods, but so as to yield to the slightly higher friction force exerted on the handles when the latter must move on the horizontal end part of the rods.

Thus is obtained the automatic drive of the called bag by the evacuated bag until the called bag arrives in the filling position, its two yawning faces, since the downstream face is driven by the evacuated bag, while the other face remains integral with the bag mattress.

For its part, the evacuated bag can move by its handles on the horizontal part of the rods, this bag being driven by the conveyor 14, until the handles are released from these rods 5.5 ′. The rupture of the bridges 8, previously described allows the subsequent passage of the evacuated bag independently of the called bag which remains at the filling station.

Claims (21)

1 - Method for packaging articles, in particular at the retail level, the selected articles being collected in plastic bags provided with gripping handles,
characterized by the succession of the following operations: a) a reserve of bags stacked and forming a compacted mattress (1) is placed at the packaging station, by engaging on two lateral lateral rods (5.5 ′) the perforations (4.4 ′) provided on the handles (3, 3 ') of the bags, each side of a bag being provided in securing contact with the face of the neighboring bag by a detachable securing means such as a gluing zone, point of glue or thin strip of material, the bags stacked constituting a large reserve making it possible to cut the bags individually as and when required; b) a head bag (12) is separated from the mattress and this head bag is brought into the open and filling position, the two sides of the bag respectively (6 and 6 ′) being separated and yawning so as to allow the 'convenient insertion by the upper opening thus made free of objects (7 and 7'); c) the bag (12) is moved once filled to an exit station capable of receiving the filled bag thus brought to the disposal of the consumer who resumes his packaged purchases; d) the evacuated bag (12) drives in its movement one face of the next bag which is thus brought in its turn to the filling position, and in the subsequent attraction corresponding to the continuation of the movement of the evacuated bag, the detachable securing point (8) breaks and the two bags are then separated, the evacuated bag (12) leading to the exit station while a new bag (13) can receive the objects which are subsequently counted. 2 - Process according to claim 1 above,
characterized in that the compressed bags are stacked, all the stacked bags being mounted on a blocking pin and this pin (23) is engaged in slots or perforations which are provided in correspondence on ears (24 ) arranged for this purpose on the upper edge of each side face (6) of a bag. 3 - Method according to one of claims 1 or 2 above,
characterized in that two stacks of twin bags are placed side by side allowing the filling operation to continue and consequently the flow of the objects during the time interval corresponding to the evacuation of a bag and to the 'brought from the subsequent bag in the open position. 4 - Method according to one of claims 1,2 or 3 above,
characterized in that prior to the packaging operations, the objects are deposited on an upstream conveyor belt (30) serving as a station for storing and successive movements of the objects towards the accounting station (31), on which the service personnel reads objects and accounting operations. 5 - Method according to one of claims 1,2,3,4 above,
characterized in that the stacked bags are inserted by their perforation (4,4 ') provided on their handles (3,3'), on rods (5,5 ¹ ) for guiding and storage which are inclined downwards in direction of their free ends, the terminal part of each rod (5.5 ') in a horizontal direction, so that when the handles (3.3') arrive on the horizontal terminal part of the rods (5.5 '), the sliding effect helped by the slope ceases and beyond the threshold constituted by the transition from the inclined planes to the horizontal part, the resistance opposed by the displacement of the handles increases, and in that the material bridges (8 ) are calibrated and calibrated so as to resist the low tensile force exerted on the handles sliding on the inclined rods, but so as to yield to the slightly higher friction force exerted on the handles when they have to move on the horizontal end part of the rods. 6 - Device for the implementation of the method according to one of claims 1 to 5 above and for the packaging of articles collected in bags, such as plastic bellows bags and provided with gripping handles, the device being suitable for equipping an item control and disposal station, such as a cash register at a retail outlet to allow bagging of items out of control and in view of their evacuation,
characterized in that it comprises downstream of said control station a reserve of bags in the form of a mattress (1) of bags stacked vertically and having their side provided with gripping handles and conforming the opening, oriented upwards, the device further comprising means (5,5 ') for guiding a bag (12) located at the head of the mattress, from an inactive position against the mattress (1) to an active, open position (20), separate and detached from the mattress, the two faces of the yawning bag in the open and filling position, and the device is capable of allowing the movement of the bag from its filling position to a discharge position. 7 - Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a conveyor (14) such as an endless belt disposed from an area directly above said mattress (1) and ending at an exit station, said conveyor being provided and in contact with the bottom of the head bag or at a distance allowing said bottom to rest on the conveyor (14) when the bag is loaded with articles (7,7 ') introduced by its upper opening, said conveyor being associated with control means (27) for its movement making it possible to ensure the movement of the bag from its open and filling position to a discharge position at the end of said conveyor. 8 - Device according to claim 6 or claim 7,
characterized in that the mattress (1) of the bags stacked vertically and their opening facing upwards, is formed by a set of bags, each bag of which consists of two faces (6,6 ') joined by their bottom and by their sides and comprising upper gripping handles (3.3 ′) (in a manner known per se) and each face of a bag is detachably secured to the face situated opposite and belonging to the neighboring bag. 9 - Device according to claim 8, characterized in that each side of the bag is made integral with the face belonging to the neighboring bag by a securing means capable of yielding beyond a pulling force of a bag on the another exceeding one kilo. 10-Device according to one of claims 8 or 9,
characterized in that the two faces thus joined by a securing means comprise an interstitial adhesive. 11 - Device according to one of claims 8 or 9,
characterized in that the joining of one face of a bag to the face of the neighboring bag is obtained by at least one and preferably two bridges of material capable of yielding beyond a tensile force exceeding one kilo. 12-Device according to one of claims 7 to 11,
characterized in that it comprises means for retaining the stack of bags forming a mattress and these means consist of a pin (23) for blocking inserted in a separable part of the wall of the stacked bags; and preferably this separable part consists of an ear (24) connected by a line of weakness (25) to the edge of at least one face (6) of the bag and provided with an opening, the locking pin (23 ) being able to be engaged in the openings in accordance with said ears (24) of the stacked bags and the spindle has at its end a lockable stop (26) opposing the exhaust of the stack of ears forming a body with the stacking bags. 13 - Device according to one of claims 7 to 12,
characterized in that the means for guiding the successive bags consist of two lateral rods (5.5 ′) and inserted into slots (4.4 ′) in accordance with one bag on the other on the entire mattress . 14-Device according to one of claims 7 to 13,
characterized in that the said lights (4,4 ') inserted on the said lateral guide rods (5,5') are provided on the grip handles (3,3 '), these matching lights being engaged on the said rods, such that the stack of bags is suspended from said rods, which allow the movement of each bag located at the head of the stack from an inactive position against the mattress (1), to a position (20) detached and released to the outside of the mattress, the two faces (6, 6 ') being separated to allow the filling of the bag thus brought into the active opening and filling position. 15 - Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the lockable stop fitted to the end of the locking pin (23) is formed by a cleat (26) made at least partially in the form of a cylinder section and articulated on the end of said spindle, the cleat being able to be brought into a concentric and collinear position with the spindle and in the extension of the main body of the latter for the engagement of the ears (24) of the bags stacked and engaged by their openings on said pin (23), and the cleat being capable of being then brought into the transverse position by tilting to ensure the locking of said ears belonging to the stack of bags. 16 - Device according to one of claims 7 to 15, characterized in that the conveyor (14) is formed of a conveyor belt of flexible material and its upstream inlet is positioned directly above the open position ( 20) of the bag brought into the active position, the belt comprising a plurality of lower rollers or rollers (17, 18, 19) making it possible to support the belt on which the loaded bags rest when they are conveyed from the filling station to the outlet station . 17 - Device according to one of claims 7 to 16, characterized in that said outlet station is equipped with a series of rollers (21, 22, 23) arranged, in a manner known per se, transversely and at the outlet of the conveyor belt, the rollers being mounted insane and capable of receiving the filled bags at the exit of the conveyor belt, waiting for manual evacuation. 18 - Device according to one of claims 7 to 17,
characterized in that the control means of the conveyor belt preferably consist of a pedal (27) situated at a level allowing its convenient operation by the personnel on duty at the checkpoint, in particular at the checkout, said pedal being adapted by Relays and circuits suitable for starting the engine controlling the translation of the conveyor belt (14). 19 - Device according to one of claims 7 to 18,
characterized in that it is integrated into an accounting station or "cashier" of a self-service sales area, and the station comprises, upstream of the packaging device, an upstream storage belt (30) for the products on hold , suitable for ensuring their successive movements towards the service personnel, an optical reading station of the "barcode" type, the objects thus being able, immediately after reading by the barcode device, to be placed in the bags in position opening immediately downstream and in the immediate vicinity of the reading device, so that the service personnel, after passing the label on the reading device places the object thus counted in the bag in the open position and filling. 20 - Self-service point-of-sale checkout type checkpoint according to claim 19,
characterized in that it comprises two packaging devices in paired position side by side and each one according to one of claims 7 to 18. 21 - Device according to one of claims 7 to 19,
characterized in that the rods (5.5 ') for guiding and storing the stacked bags being suspended by their handles (3.3') threaded by their perforations (4.4 ') on said rods, are inclined downwards towards their free end, thus facilitating the sliding of the handles of the called bag from its storage position to its open position or filling station, the terminal part of each rod in a horizontal direction.

Images