US2175274A

US2175274A - Refrigerated sealer for wrapping machines

Info

Publication number: US2175274A
Application number: US32361A
Authority: US
Inventors: Elmer F Mertis
Original assignee: AMF Inc
Current assignee: AMF Inc
Priority date: 1935-07-20
Filing date: 1935-07-20
Publication date: 1939-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1956-10-10

Description

Oct. 1.0, 1939. E. F. MERTls- REFRIGERATED SEALER FOR WRPPINGl MOHIIUEZSy Filed 'July zo; 1935 2 sheets-sheet 27 ATTORNEY Patented oct. 1o, 1939 Elmer Mertis, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey I Application July 20, ,1935, Serial No. 32,361

s claims.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in heat seal wrapping machines, more particularly to a refrigerated sealer for the same. The main ob,- ject of the invention is to chill the heated seals of. the packages by a refrigerated sealer comprising cooling vessels having direct contact therewith, to the end that the refrigerated belts heretofore used in wrapping machines oi this type may be eliminated. For this purpose the cooling vessels may be arranged to' directly engage the heat sealed end folds and bottom seam of the packages advanced theretofrom the heat sealing means by any'suitable mechanism vsuch as traveling .endless belts. With this and other objects not Aspecifically mentioned in view, the

inventionconsists in certain constructions and combinations hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which-.like characters of reference indicate the .same or like parts: l

Fig. 1 is a partial side view of a wrapping u machine wherein the packages are advancedfrom the heat sealing means by a delivery conveyor to the improved refrigerated sealer;

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the connections of the refrigeratlng unit t the bottom and side expansion chambers of the refrigerated sea er;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the refrigerated sealer on an enlarged scale showing the adjustable mounting thereof;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation'of an expansion chamber construction suitable for the pur of the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the same.

In carrying the, invention into effect there is provided a device for heat sealingv Packages. a

set of cooling vessels arranged to directly engage I and chill the heated seals of a package, means for maintaining said cooling 'vessels at a substantially constant temperature, and mechanism for receiving the heat sealed packages from said heat sealing means and advancing them to said cooling vessels,- whereby the hot seals of the` packages will be chilled. In. the best constructions contemplated said means includes a thermostatically controlled refrigerating unit, and saidcooling vessels, including a pairof adjustable side expansion chambers and a stationary bottom expansion. chamber, the mechanism for advancing the packages being adjustable simultaneously with said side chambers and acting to move the packages therebetween sidewise on to said bottom chamber. These various means and parts may be widely varied in construction, for the particular construction selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible concrete. embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the specific arrangement shown and described.

Referring to the drawings, a shaft I0 suitably drivenrfrom the main drive of the wrapping machine drives, by means of bevel gearing (not shown). vertical shafts carrying the pulleys II which in turn drive the conveyor belts I2. These belts I2 also'run'over idler pulleys I3 which are supported in brackets I4. The housings I5, which support theV pulleys I I, are slidably mounted on the shaft Ill and a cross-bar I6.

The tie-rods I1 are mounted at one end in bearings I8 of the machine frame and each carry a series of bearing blocks I9, 20, 2I and 22 which 2- support the bar IB and the

spindles

23, 24 and 25, respectively. On each end of the

spindles

23 and 24 are loosely mounted a set of arms 26 andv 21 whichare fastened to bars 2K8. At one end the bars' 28 are fastened-to the housing I5. A set of hooked brackets 29 adjustably mounted on. the mid-section of the bars 28 overhang the belts I2 and carry tension bars 30 extending along the inner faces of the inner runs of the belts I2. The` bars 30 thus act to reinforce the inner runs rci the conveyor belts I2 and hold the freshly heatlsealed end folds' of the'package closed whilethey are advanced to the refrigerated sealer which will now be described. Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings, the ends of the spindle 25 are oppo-a sitely threaded into the angle-bars 3| which are fastenedto the plates 32, the free ends of the bars Il engaging studs carried by. collars fastened on the rods-I1 whereby the bars 3l are maintained inan upright position.v` The plates 32 are provided with lugs-3l which carry the side cooling vessels of the refrigerated sealer which may be

expansion chambers

34 and 34a as shown. 'I'he chambers 3l and a are equipped with'e'xpansion-coils 35. 5

The shaft I0, Fig. 1, carries a pulley 36 drivingy an endless belt 31. running over an idler pulley 3l, and the pulley 38 is mounted on a shaft 39 fiournaled in the adjustable blocks 40 carried by brackets 4I xed on the rods I1. In 50 the space between the pulleys 36 and 38 is supported a table l2 attached to members 43 carrried bythe tie-rods I1. The bottom cooling vessel of the refrigerated sealerjinay be an expansion-chamber M supported on. the .bars 40 f and equipped with an expansion coil 45. However, it will be understood that the bottom and side cooling vessels may be tanks lled with brine in which the expansion coils are submerged.

Referring to Fig. 2 wherein is shown a refrigerating unit connected to the expansion coils of the

tank

34, 34a and 44, the bottom coils of the condenser 46 and the receiver 41 thereof contain the condensed refrigerant. In theupper coils of the condenser the refrigerant is conned in a gaseous state under sufficient pressure to prevent the condensed refrigerant present in the lower coils and the receiver from boiling or vaporizing. The pressure thus exerted thereon forces thev refrigerant up through the flexible tube 48 leading to the expansion coil 35 of the side chamber 34. A flexible tube 44' conducts the refrigerant from the outlet of the expansion coil in the chamber 34 to the'inlet of the expansion coil 35 in the chamber 34a, and another flexible tube 48" permits the refrigerant to flow from the expansion coil in the chamber 34a into the expansion coil 45 of the bottom chamber 44. The tube 48 at a point close to where it enters the tank 34 is equipped with an expansion valve 49 which regulates the flow. of liquid and permits only a small stream of the refrigerant to flow into the expansion coil of the chamber 34, wherein it partially vaporizes and is further vaporized in the expansion coil of the chamber 34a and then completely vaporized in the expansion coil of -the bottom chamber 44. I

The vaporization of the refrigerant in this manner absorbs heat from the chambers 34', 34a and 44. A dual pressure control 50 of well known construction mounted in a pipe connected across the inlet and outlet of the compressor 52 controls the cutout circuit of a motor (not shown) to cause the motor, by means of a belt 5l, to drive the compressor 52 and therebypump the vaporized refrigerant out of the expansion coils of the cooling vessels and compress and return it through'a conduit 53 to the condenser wherein` it is condensed. Since the construction and opere ation of such dual pressure controls, to cause the compressor to maintain a constant supply of liquid refrigerant in the receiver, is well known,

further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. A blast of air sent over the condenser coils by a fan driven from the motor shaft hastens this condensation. The expansion valve 4! is thermostatically controlled by a thermostat (not shown) mounted on the return line 53 and connected to the expansion valve to govern theflow of liquid refrigerant into the expansion coil of the chamber 34 in a well known manner to keep .therewith to propel the packages into the rel i'rigerated sealer. 'Ihe packages, on entering the refrigerated sealer, leave the conveyor belts I2 i and are carried by the belt 31 past the

side expansion chambers

34 and 34a thereof, whereby A the -heat-sealed end folds of the package are chilled. 'Ihe package is thus advanced on to the stationary bottom expansion chamber 44, where it remains until the succeeding package delivered by the conveyor belt 31 pushes it `on to a take-off table 55. The bottom seam of the package is chilled and set while it rests on the bottom chamber 44. By turning the handles 56 or 51, which are mounted on the ends of spindles 23 and 25, respectively, the side conveyor belts I2 and the

side expansion chambers

34 and 34a may be simultaneously adjusted to accommodate diiferent lengths of packages.

The invention may be applied to mapping machines of various types other than the bread wrapping machine chosen to illustrate one embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, the refrigerated sealer may be arranged to chill the heated seals of packages having various types r of folds different from that shown herein.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown an expansion chamber, the construction'of which is especially suitable for the bottom and side expansion chambers of the present invention. As illustrated therein, the expansion chamber includes a plate 50 adapted to engage the heated package seals, and an .expansion coil 6I which is secured to the plate 60 by solder 62 and embedded in grooves of the base 63 which may be mounted on one of the bars 32 or on the bottom bars 40, the expansion coil having an inlet B4 and an outlet 65 to which the -refrigerating unit may be `connected as shown in Fig. 3. Due to the soldered connection between the plate 60 and the expansion coil 6I the vaporization of the refrigerant in the latter will chill the plate more eifectively. The base 63 may be formed of cork or other suitable insulating material to prevent the flow of heat from the machine into the expansion coils.

What is claimed is:

1. In a heat seal wrapping machine, the combination with a pair of endless traveling side belts having opposed vertical runs spaced to engage the heat sealed packages by their ends and advance them sidewise, of a pair of side cooling 'vessels arranged to receive the heat sealed -packages therebetween from said side belts and directly engage and chill the heated end folds of the packages, means for simultaneously'adjusting said side belts and side cooling vessels to accommodate packages of various lengths, and mechanism for driving said belts in any adjusted position thereof.

2. In a heat seal wrapping machine, the combination with a pair of endless traveling side belts having opposed vertical runs spaced to engage the heat sealed packages by their ends and advance them sidewise, of a pair of side cooling vessels arranged to receive the heat sealed packages therebetween from said side belts and directly engage and chill the heated end folds of the packages, means for simultaneously adjusting said side belts and side cooling vessels to accommodate packages of various length, a thermostatically controlled refrigerating unit for maintaining said side cooling vessels at a uniform temperature, and mechanism for driving said belts in any adjusted position thereof.

3. In a heat seal wrapping machine, the combination with a pair of endless traveling side belts having opposed vertical runs spaced to engage the heat sealed packages by their ends and advance them sidewise, of a pair of side cooling vessels arranged t0 receive the heat sealed packages therebetween from said side belts and directly engage and chill the heated end folds of.

the packages, means for simultaneously adjusting said side belts and side cooling vessels to accommodate packages of various lengths, a stationary bottom cooling vessel arranged-to engage and chill the bottom seam of the packages between said side cooling vessels, a traveling bottom belt havingan upper run arranged to support the packages between said side belts and acting to advance the packages sidewise'between said side cooling vessels on to said bottom cooling vessel. and mechanism for driving said side belts in any adjusted position thereof.

4. In a wrapping machine, the combination with a set of spaced/ sidef cooling vessels arranged to admit heat sealed packages therebetween and directly engage and congeal the heated seals on the ends thereof, a bottom cooling vessel arranged to engage and congeal the heat seals on the bottom of the packages, a thermostatically controlled refrigerating device for maintaining said vessels at a uniform temperature, a set of belts coacting to grip and advance heat sealed vpackages between said side cooling vessels and then on to said bottom cooling vessel, means for relatively adjusting said belts to accommodate packages of various sizes, and mechanism for driving said bets in any adjusted, position thereof.

5. In a wrapping machine, the combination with a cooling vessel arranged to engage and congeal the heated seals on the bottom of heat sealed ackages, of a set of belts coacting to grip and a vance heat sealed packages on to said vessel, a thermostatically controlled refrigerating device for maintaining said vessel at a uniform temper-4 ature, means 'for relatively adjusting said belts to accommodate packages of various sizes, and mechanism for driving said belts in any adjusted vpositiorn thereof.

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