Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
  • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
  • B65C9/08—Label feeding
  • B65C9/18—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls
  • B65C9/1865—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels adhering on a backing strip
  • B65C9/1876—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels adhering on a backing strip and being transferred by suction means
  • B65C9/1884—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels adhering on a backing strip and being transferred by suction means the suction means being a movable vacuum arm or pad
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
  • B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
  • B65D33/24—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices using self-locking integral or attached closure elements, e.g. flaps
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2313/00—Connecting or fastening means
  • B65D2313/02—Connecting or fastening means of hook-and-loop type

Definitions

• the invention concerns a re-closable bag package, intended in particular for food products, which is provided with means for closing it in such a way as to adapt to varying quantities of product contained therein.
• Packages of this type are well known and widely used especially, for example, for food products such as biscuits, coffee, sugar and many other items in daily use; they exist in various sizes according to need and the bag form referred to above is to be understood in this description and the following claims in a broad sense which includes packaging made from paper, plastics or other materials, and which is flexible such that it can be easily refolded and adapted to the changing levels of the product contained within the package.
• bag packages considered here may be of the type having an end constituting a support base or may be formed more like an envelope in which two opposite faces can be identified.
• the closure systems most often used to achieve this purpose are essentially of two types (see Figures 1, la, lb).
• the first is constituted by the normal adhesive strips attached to the outer surface of the package, while the second is represented by band of plastics material having a metallic wire core to give it a certain rigidity, which can be deformed in such a way as to keep the package closed (see Figures la and lb); in practice, because of its length, the band is used to "throttle" the upper part of the package or to seal it like a clamp when the top of the package is folded down.
• the adhesive surface of the strip is easily contaminated by the package contents, for example coffee powder or sugar, crumbs or other external contaminants such that it loses its adhesive capacity and consequently becomes ineffective.
• the bands with the metallic wire cores have the failing that although, as in the first case, they "throttle" the bag package, they cannot be firmly fixed to it (this being for the obvious reason that they must allow the package to be closed according to how full it is) and therefore risk falling off in use; account should be taken of how many times packages of coffee, sugar or flour are opened and closed again in normal use.
• longer bands however, they are usually glued to the bag package but, due to the continuous deformation to which they are subject together with the folding of the package, they frequently get detached and are then difficult to use again.
• the object of the invention is that of providing a bag package with closure means which adapt to the varying levels of product contained therein, having structural and functional characteristics which overcome the disadvantages referred to with respect to currently known packages.
• the invention also includes a method for manufacturing such a package and an apparatus for carrying out the method, the characteristics of which are also set out in the accompanying claims.
• FIGS. 2 and 3 are a perspective view and a side view respectively of a package according to the invention in a first operative condition
• Figures 4 and 5 are side views of the package of Figures 2 and 3 in successive operative conditions;
• Figure 7 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the package of Figures 2 and 3;
• FIG. 8 and 9 are a perspective view and a side view respectively of a further embodiment of the invention.
• - Figure 10 is a general view of an apparatus for carrying out the method of manufacturing the package according to the invention.
• - Figures 11 and 12 show a detail of the apparatus of Figure 10 during various operating steps of the method;
• Figures 13 and 14 show an alternative embodiment of the detail of Figures 11 and 12 in corresponding operating steps.
• package according to the invention is generally indicated 1; the package is in the form of a bag usually used for food products and is shown in the form it takes at the point of sale.
• the package 1 has a lower end 2 suitable to constitute a support base, and a sealed upper end 3 intended to be removed with scissors or by tearing in order to open the package.
• Closure means 10 are attached to one side of the package; more precisely, referring also to Figure 6 which shows it on an enlarged scale, in this embodiment the closure means are constituted by two hook and loop coupling elements 11 and 12 of the type commonly called "Velcro" , which derives its name from the manufacturing company that has made this type of closure means available.
• Both of the elements 11 and 12 are provided with an adhesive side 11a, 12a on the side opposite to the one used for closure, which is able to allow their attachment to the package and, with particular reference to Figures 2 and 3, the first of these elements is already attached to the package by this adhesive side, while the adhesive side of the second element which is coupled to, is provided with a protection 13 that can be a piece of silicone paper or the like.
• the top of the package is folded downwards taking care to remove the protection 13 from the element 12 beforehand; its adhesive side 12a can therefore receive the top of the package on the opposite side from that to which the element 11 is attached, as shown in Figure 4.
• a strip 11 of hook and loop material attached to the package could be used instead of a similar plurality of pairs of elements, intended to couple with one or more smaller elements 12 disposed on the opposite side of the package.
• preliminarily coupled elements 11 and 12 each having an adhesive side, allows simple and rapid attachment which is also advantageous in terms of production as will become clearer later on in this description; it is, however, evident that it would not be difficult to make packages according to the invention by attaching the elements separately to opposite sides of the package as shown in Figure 7. In such a situation, it is not necessary to protect the active surface of the elements which would remain exposed before selling the package, in that this surface is not susceptible to the deposition of dirt or other contaminants.
• the elements 11 and 12 may not have an adhesive side, obviously as long as their attachment to the package in an equivalent way is provided for, for example by using glue to attach them to the package, or by sewing or by means of clips if the material of the package does not lend itself to the use of adhesive materials in general.
• the package of the invention has the significant advantage that numerous variants can easily be made on the basis of the teaching which derives from the embodiment described above.
• closure means 10 can be used almost universally on any already existing package shape without having to introduce any structural modifications such as, for example, flaps or the like in order to attach the closure means of the invention; instead, a suitable adhesive should be chosen in dependence on the material from which the package is made.
• An apparatus 30 for making packages 1 is positioned close to a conveyor T which conveys the packages from a production and packaging line which is not shown in the drawings.
• the apparatus has a self-supporting frame 32 on which an operative unit 35 is mounted; the frame 32 is provided with conventional means which are not shown in the drawings to allow it to be moved along the conveyor T or the rest of the production line (bearings, wheels etc.).
• the operative unit may be attached to the conveyor structure T, instead of being mounted on the frame,.
• the unit is also provided with devices, not shown in the drawings, to control its positioning with respect to the conveyor T (guides, hand wheels for operation of lead screw systems etc. ) .
• a reel 37 of coupled elements 11 and 12 is mounted on a projecting pin 36 on the upper part of the unit 35; more precisely, the coupled elements are held in alignment on a silicone paper tape 39 to which the adhesive side 11a of one of them adheres.
• the tape 39 unwinds from the reel 37 along a path defined by a series of guide rollers 40 to a motorised shaft 44 which rotates a second tape-gathering reel 45 to which an end of the tape is attached.
• a detaching plane surface 41 is also present along the path, situated in correspondence with a pneumatic station 50 for application of the elements 11 and 12; the surface 41 has a bevelled end 41a to assist the running of the tape and the distribution of the elements as will become clear from the following.
• the pneumatic station 50 comprises essentially a plate 51 provided with holes 52 suitable to communicate alternatively with suction and air delivery means, not illustrated, following the reversal of their connection to corresponding ducts 53 and 54 which extend between the suction and air delivery means and the pneumatic station 50.
• the perforated plate acts as a nozzle for the flow of air sucked in or blown out; its arrangement is, however, advantageous in allowing the reliable and effective attachment of the closure elements as will become clear.
• a photocell 46 is provided for the automatic operation of the apparatus 30, upstream of the detaching surface 41 along the path of the tape 39, as well as an electronic control unit 47 for controlling the apparatus which determines its operation as follows.
• the package 1 on the conveyor T starts to move towards the pneumatic station 50 while, at the same time, the unwinding of the tape 39 drawn by the second reel 45 driven by the shaft 44 brings a pair of elements 11 and 12 to the detaching surface plate 41; the rapid inversion of the plane of motion to which the tape 39 is subjected as it passes over the detaching surface 41 causes detachment of the pair of elements 11 and 12 found at this point on the tape 39 (see Figure 11).
• the holes 52 in the plate 51 are put in communication with the suction means following the above- mentioned commutation controlled by the electronic control assembly; the suction effect caused by this allows the pair of elements 11 and 12 separated from the tape to be temporarily pressed against the plate 51, until such time as a package 1 on the conveyor belt arrives substantially at a position underlying the pneumatic station 50.
• the conveyor belt is provided with means for controlling the forward motion as a function of the position of a package with respect to the station 50. These means are conventional (proximity sensors etc) and also depend on the type of movement chosen for the packages, which can be continuous or stepwise.
• control assembly reverses the connection of the holes 52 from the air suction means to the air delivery means and a stream of air flowing from the plate 51 therefore strikes the elements 11 and 12, pushing them against the package with the adhesive side 11a facing it (see Figures 11 and 12).
• delivery of air from the plate is preceded by a movement of the plate towards the package to which the element is to be attached (see Figures 11 and 12) in order to assist this action; however, this movement is not strictly necessary and can, in some cases, even be omitted.
• the element is drawn by the further forwards movement of the package along the conveyor belt T, thereby adhering to it under gravity; if necessary, the device could be provided with pressing means upstream of the detaching surface to assist the above-mentioned contact or complete the attachment of the element to the package.
• the use of a tape as a support for the elements 11, 12 to be attached confers a double advantage: the first consists in being able to create a stock for accumulation of the elements along the production line, represented by the reel 37; in fact, with the reel-winding arrangement it is possible to accumulate a significant number of elements ready for attachment without needing particular, or complicated, arrangements for supplying the apparatus.
• the second advantage is that of also being able to use the tape for the continuous supply of the elements ready for attachment by virtue of the particular path including the change in plane of advancement which assists the separation of the elements who thus become available to be attached to the material of the packages.
• the apparatus of the invention can be adapted with flexibility to the various types of packages which can be used; in fact, by choosing either one or the other technique of contact or pneumatic application, or by adjusting the pressure of air supply as a function of the type of adhesive used on the side 11a of the substantially smooth surface of the material from which the package is made, or of the dimensions and weight of the elements 11 and 12 as well as other parameters, it is possible always to achieve an optimum attachment of the closure means 10 of the invention.
• the way in which the described apparatus operates allows that it to not interfere with normal productive activity, since it can easily be moved to different points in the production and packaging line without having to be adapted or modified.
• the elements 11 and 12 do not have to be attached to packages which have already been formed but could also be attached to the material of the package when it is in a semi-worked state, that is to say when it is in the form of simple sheets or in any other form depending on the production cycle.
• the method of the invention can be used to attach a single element 11 or 12 to one side of the package and the corresponding element to the other side, located both in positions which obviously allow the teaching derived from the initially-described embodiment to be used; a similar variant of the method could advantageously be employed, for example, in the case in which an element in the form of a strip is used as shown in Figures 8 and 9.
• the direction of advancement of the support tape 39 of the elements 11, 12 could be other than horizontal as shown in the accompanying drawings; it is, in fact, clear that this direction can also be vertical or more generally inclined in any direction, by virtue of the way in which the elements are attached, being held on the tape until the last moment before being lifted off by the air flow or by coming into contact with the package. This clearly allows, therefore, elements to be attached to packages conveyed in the upright position.
• the method of the invention can also be used when the hook and loop coupling elements do not have an adhesive side as in the preceding case; it could, in fact, be that in the method as previously described, there is a preliminary phase in which an adhesive is applied to the material of the package or directly on the latter.

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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ID=11371003

Family Applications (1)

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• 1995
  • 1995-03-21 IT IT95MI000562A patent/IT1275951B1/it active IP Right Grant
• 1996
  • 1996-03-14 EP EP96908035A patent/EP0819084A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1996-03-14 WO PCT/EP1996/001093 patent/WO1996029256A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1996-03-14 CA CA002216137A patent/CA2216137A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-03-14 AU AU51437/96A patent/AU5143796A/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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