GB1587808A - Poultry bagging method - Google Patents

Description

(54) POULTRY BAGGING METHOD (71) We, W.F. ALTENPOHL, INC., a Corporation organized and existing under the Laws of the State of Pennsylvania, United States of America of 1120 Bedford Street, High Point, North Carolina, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: Background of the invention This invention relates in general to the packaging of poultry or the like in flexible film bags.

Present product marketing trends have seen a dramatic increase in the packaging of poultry within tightly fitting, flexible film bags, whereby the customer may visually examine the bird through transparent portions of the packaging film and quickly read the information imprinted on the film, such as weight and price, in order to make a purchase judgment. The packaging of poultry in the flexible film bags has been an essentially manual operation because of the difficulty in loading irregular products such as poultry into tightly fitting bags. The bagging operation is further complicated by the necessity to match the size of the bird to a correspondingly sized weight marked bag.

According to present bagging practices, processed poultry loaded onto a conveyor are delivered to a bagging station at which one or more persons remove each bird from the conveyor, weigh it, select an appropriate size or weight marked bag from a bag rack, load the bird into the selected bag and then place the bagged bird back onto the conveyor for delivery to a bag sealing station.

Such bagging practices are slow and, therefore, either limit production speed or require a plurality of simultaneous operations to increase the output at an increased cost of equipment and labor. Further, because of the use of personnel to manually perform the various steps in the bagging operation, production speed becomes erratic and mismatch between bird weight and bag size occurs.

Automatic weight sorting apparatus are well known such as those disclosed in U.S.

Patent Nos. 3,291,303 and 3,680,693 to Altenpohl. The use of such weight sorting apparatus in combination with the packaging of poultry in cartons has already been proposed by applicants. Also well known in the art are automatic bagging machine adapted to handle the flexible film bags aforementioned. Heretofore, automated packaging of poultry in such flexible film bags was impractical because of the problems inherent in the loading of relatively large and irregular products into the bags with the required tight fit, orientation and at a high enough production speed to warrant the cost. Prior attempts at automated packaging involved physical molding of the poultry for reception in tight fitting bags.

The complexity performance and reliability of the poultry molding mechanism is not however satisfactory.

It is therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a simple but reliable method and apparatus for automatically loading poultry into tightly fitting flexible film bags.

It is a further object in accordance with the foregoing object to eliminate manual handling of poultry in the weighing and bagging of poultry as well as to increase the bagging operational speed without any corresponding increase in personnel and cost of equipment.

Yet another object is to provide automatic tight-fit bagging method and apparatus for poultry which avoids the use of poultry molding apparatus.

According to the present invention a method of automatically bagging flexible objects of irregular shape conveyed by a moving conveyor toward a bagging station, includes the steps of suspending each of the objects at spaced locations thereon from the conveyor in a predetermined orientation; positioning open flexible bags at the bagging station below the conveyor for respective reception of one of the objects in one of the bags with a substantially tight fit; releasing each of the objects at the spaced locations thereon for free fall descent; limiting said free fall descent by impact of each of the objects with a fixed inclined surface; and guiding continued decelerated descent along said fixed inclined surface directly into one of the open bags. The object may be poultry, the spaced locations being on the poultry legs.The conveyor is conveniently provided with double hook carriers through which the poultry is suspended by the legs.

The flexible bags are conveniently made of film having transparent portions through which the poultry breasts are visible.

A plurality of weighing and associated bagging stations may be provided to automatically bag birds within different weight ranges, each bagging device being provided with bags that are correspondingly sized and weight marked.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

Brief description of drawing Figures Figure I is a partial side elevation view of the apparatus of the present invention at a bagging station.

Figure 2 is a transverse section view of the apparatus taken substantially through a plane indicated by section line 2--2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view taken substantially from a plane indicated by section line 3--3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged partial section view taken substantially through a plane indicated by section line 4--4 in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of a bagging system in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a flexible film bag for use with the present invention as seen from the front.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the bag as seen from the rear.

Figure 8 is a perspective of the bag after it is sealed.

Figure 9 is an enlarged partial section view taken through a plane indicated by section line 9--9 in Figure 8.

Detailed description of preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a single bagging station generally referred to by reference numeral 10 to which birds 12 within a predetermined weight range are delivered by a weight sorting apparatus generally referred to by reference numeral 14. The weight sorting apparatus shown is of the type disclosed in U.S. patent No. 3,680,693 aforementioned and includes a horizontal overhead conveyor 16 from which the birds are suspended for movement along a horizontal path. The birds are suspended by double leg hooks 18 associated with carriers 20 connected to the conveyor. The load on the carriers are transferred to a fixed track 22 approaching the bagging station at which a load within a preset weight range is released or dropped.Thus, birds within the predetermined weight range will effect operation of a tripping mechanism to upwardly retract a latch 26 and release the hook 18 to drop a bird at the bagging station. Each bird when dropped descends a predetermined free fall distance 28 denoted in Figure 2 before it contacts a bagging device generally referred to by reference numeral 30, with which a stack of flexible film bags 32 are associated. As each bird is received in a bag 32, the bag becomes detached from the bagging device 30 and falls onto the moving receiver surface or upper run of an unloading conveyor belt 34, adapted to deliver the bagged birds to a sealing station (not shown). The upper run of the conveyor belt moves in a direction generally parallel to the path of travel of the overhead conveyor 16.

The bags 32 associated with any given bagging station 10, are of a size which corresponds to the weight range of the birds dropped from the associated weight sorting apparatus 14 so as to enclose the bird with a minimal amount of internal air space remaining. A plurality of bagging devices 30; may be operatively positioned below the overhead conveyor 16 as schematically illustrated in Figure 5, for receiving birds within different weight ranges from associated weight sorting assemblies 14, the bags carried by each bagging device corresponding in size to the different weight ranges. Thus, bagging of birds differing from each other in weight by incremental amounts may be automatically loaded into bags that are appropriately sized for a tight fit. The loaded bags are ultimately sealed as shown in Figures 8 and 9 at the sealing station in a manner well known in the art.

The bagging devices 30 are of a commercially available type manufactured by Pace maker Packaging Corporation of Astoria, New York, having a guide chute 36, a pair of spring-biased pivoted guide arms 38 that project into the mouth of the top bag held open by a controlled air stream. The stack of bags are held on a rack 40 having a pair of holding pins 42 extending through aligned holes 44 formed in the top flap portion 46 of each bag. As more clearly seen in Figures 6 and 7, each bag 32 has a front transparent portion 48 through which the bird is visible.

The back portion 50 may be opaque and have information imprinted thereon such as the weight range and price of the bird. The distance between the holes 44 and the top edge of the flap portion 46 are such as to accommodate rupture under impact when a bird enters the bag with a predetermined impact velocity or momentum. In this manner, the bag is detached from the rack 40 to effect gravitational transfer of each bagged bird to the conveyor belt 34.

As more clearly seen in Figure 2, the bagging device 30 is operatively mounted by any suitable supporting structure 52 so that the slide surface 54 of the guide chute is inclined at a 45 degree angle, with its upper portion intersecting the vertical path of fall 56 of the bird to determine the free fall distance 28. The free fall distance is such as to enable the bird to acquire sufficient velocity to produce a bag detaching impact.

The guide surface 54 not only guides the bird into the top bag on the stack held open by the air stream, but also decelerates the bird to regulate the impact velocity and avoid excessive transfer force for a gentle bounce-free deposit onto the conveyor belt 34. For proper operation, the bird must be suspended by the legs 58 and orientated so that the breast 60 faces the direction shown so as to cause the bird to slide on its back along surface 54. With a surface 54 made of stainless steel and lubricated by water, birds that are freshly slaughtered and processed in a poultry processing plant will be in a properly pliable state to easily slide into the bag 32 and deliver the requisite impact force to effect bag detachment despite the irregularities in bird shape.Of course, only birds within the operational weight range of the weight sorting apparatus 14 will be accommodated by the size-matched bags 32. Also, when bagged the breast 60 of each bird will be visible through the transparent portion 48 of the bag.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention.

Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A method of automatically bagging flexible objects of irregular shape conveyed by a moving conveyor toward a bagging station, including the steps of: suspending each of the objects at spaced locations thereon from the conveyor in a predetermined orientation; positioning open flexible bags at the bagging station below the conveyor for respective reception of one of the objects in one of the bags with a substantially tight fit; releasing each of the objects at the spaced locations thereon for free fall descent; limiting said free fall descent by impact of each of the objects with a fixed inclined surface; and guiding continued decelerated descent along said fixed inclined surface directly into one of the open bags.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said objects are poultry and the spaced locations are on the poultry legs.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said conveyor is provided with double hook carriers through which the poultry is suspended by the legs.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3 wherein said flexible bags are made of film having transparent portions through which the poultry breasts are visible.

5. A method of automatically bagging poultry substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. Apparatus for automatically bagging poultry substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. maker Packaging Corporation of Astoria, New York, having a guide chute 36, a pair of spring-biased pivoted guide arms 38 that project into the mouth of the top bag held open by a controlled air stream. The stack of bags are held on a rack 40 having a pair of holding pins 42 extending through aligned holes 44 formed in the top flap portion 46 of each bag. As more clearly seen in Figures 6 and 7, each bag 32 has a front transparent portion 48 through which the bird is visible. The back portion 50 may be opaque and have information imprinted thereon such as the weight range and price of the bird. The distance between the holes 44 and the top edge of the flap portion 46 are such as to accommodate rupture under impact when a bird enters the bag with a predetermined impact velocity or momentum. In this manner, the bag is detached from the rack 40 to effect gravitational transfer of each bagged bird to the conveyor belt 34. As more clearly seen in Figure 2, the bagging device 30 is operatively mounted by any suitable supporting structure 52 so that the slide surface 54 of the guide chute is inclined at a 45 degree angle, with its upper portion intersecting the vertical path of fall 56 of the bird to determine the free fall distance 28. The free fall distance is such as to enable the bird to acquire sufficient velocity to produce a bag detaching impact. The guide surface 54 not only guides the bird into the top bag on the stack held open by the air stream, but also decelerates the bird to regulate the impact velocity and avoid excessive transfer force for a gentle bounce-free deposit onto the conveyor belt 34. For proper operation, the bird must be suspended by the legs 58 and orientated so that the breast 60 faces the direction shown so as to cause the bird to slide on its back along surface 54. With a surface 54 made of stainless steel and lubricated by water, birds that are freshly slaughtered and processed in a poultry processing plant will be in a properly pliable state to easily slide into the bag 32 and deliver the requisite impact force to effect bag detachment despite the irregularities in bird shape.Of course, only birds within the operational weight range of the weight sorting apparatus 14 will be accommodated by the size-matched bags 32. Also, when bagged the breast 60 of each bird will be visible through the transparent portion 48 of the bag. The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A method of automatically bagging flexible objects of irregular shape conveyed by a moving conveyor toward a bagging station, including the steps of: suspending each of the objects at spaced locations thereon from the conveyor in a predetermined orientation; positioning open flexible bags at the bagging station below the conveyor for respective reception of one of the objects in one of the bags with a substantially tight fit; releasing each of the objects at the spaced locations thereon for free fall descent; limiting said free fall descent by impact of each of the objects with a fixed inclined surface; and guiding continued decelerated descent along said fixed inclined surface directly into one of the open bags.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said objects are poultry and the spaced locations are on the poultry legs.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said conveyor is provided with double hook carriers through which the poultry is suspended by the legs.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3 wherein said flexible bags are made of film having transparent portions through which the poultry breasts are visible.

5. A method of automatically bagging poultry substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. Apparatus for automatically bagging poultry substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.