US3227351A

US3227351A - Packing of pulverulent materials and the like

Info

Publication number: US3227351A
Application number: US48111A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence W Vogt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-01-24
Filing date: 1960-08-08
Publication date: 1966-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-04

Description

c. w. VOGT 3,227,351

PUKCKING OF PULVERULENT MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Jan. 4, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Jan. 24, 1956 INVENTOR C'Zarenae W V0 5 My ATTORNEYS PACKING 0F PULVERULENT MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Original Filed Jan. 24, 1956 C. W. VOGT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 4, 1966 a ,fluL.

INVENTOR Clafience W Vb M ATTORNEYS QM I z7// & aw

Jan. 4, 1966 c. w. VOGT 3,227,351

PACKING OF PULVERULENT MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Original Filed Jan. 24, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 6 INVENTOR Clarence W. V092? ZN ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 4, 1966 3,227,351 PACKING F PULVERULENT MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Clarence W. Vogt, Kettlecreek Road, We'st0n, Conn. Original application Jan. 24 1956, Ser. No. 560,979, now Patent. No. 3,053,022, dated Sept. 11, 1962. Divided and this application Aug. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 48,111 Claims. (Cl. 229-6) 1 This is a division of application Ser. No. 560,979, filed Jan. 24, 1956, now Patent No. 3,053,022, granted Sept. 11, 1962, which is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending applications Ser. No. 556,158, filed Dec. 27, 1955 and Ser. No. 559,611, filed Jan. 17, 1956.

This invention relates to the art of packaging and more particularly to pulverulent materials and to the resulting individual packaged articles of such materials as well as to the containers thereof.

As conductive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted that in packaging for sale in grocery stores, such commodities as flour, pancake or cake mixes, of small particlesize, generally pulverulent, when such commodities are sifted or poured into a receptacle such as a bag or container, the interstitial spaces between the particles and the head room resulting from the settling of the commodity after it is packed, results i n an overall package size,much larger than Would normally be required if such interstitial spaces and head room were eliminated, with resultant need for greater shelf space and greater cost of packaging materials.

Furthermore, due to the adverse effect on certain materials, of the air Withits entrained water vapor collected in such interstitial spaces and head room,vwide variation may occur in the shelf life of packages of the same commodity thereby limiting the formulation of the materials that can thus be packaged.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a container or wrapper, which admits of ready charging with materials of the above type in desired compactness with 'a minmum of trapped air or interstitial spaces.

Another object is to provide a container or wrapper of the above type which facilitates opening thereof for removal of some or all of the contents thereof and subsequent rescaling In this connection, the containers are filled by equipment utilizing a high pressure on the material in the magazine (and preferably a relatively low pressure in the container to be filled) which material is delivered into.

the container through a relatively small orifice thus producirig a high velocity through such orifice and a rapid progressive release of interstitial air which is removed during the compacting action of the material in the container, when the pressure thereon is suddenly increased and its velocity decreased to zero. This is to be distinguished from packing operations where the material is compressed in a press.

More particularly, a filling head is provided which may be positioned in sealing engagement with the mouth of the container to be charged, the head beingprovided with a hopper or magazine having an outlet in communication with the container. By means of a gas under pressure applied to the material in the hopper, a charge of such material will be forced into the container to fill the latter in compacted form and suitable vents are provided through'which. the air in the container may be discharged,

such as'by suction which may be applied prior to and during the filling of the container without loss of any of the material being forced into the container. The resultant package thus formed will have a minimum of interstitial spaces and a minimum of volume for a given weight.

' several features of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the bottom portion of the filling equipment in partially open position,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of the bottom portion of the filling equipment in closed position with the container in position.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the container in open position,

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container in closed position, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 7,

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a container according to another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in the illustrative embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive, the equipment for forming packages of the above type comprises a mold 11 having a bottom portion 12 and a head portion 13.

The bottom portion desirably has a pair of spaced

parallel side walls

14, 15 and

end walls

16, 17 which define a rectangular cavity C into which the container 20 to be filled may be positioned.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bottom portion 12 may be constructed to define a plurality of cavities C and to this end, the bottom portion 12 has a floor 21 (FIGS.

ready insertion of the containers 20 to be filled and when I moved together to the position shown in FIG. 2, the rectangular cavities C will be formed so that the side and

end walls

14, 16 and 16, 17 will support the corresponding surfaces of the container during the filling operations.

Each of the side and

end walls

14, 15, 16 and 17 has a passageway 27 extending through its top surface 28 as at 29 and through its inner surface as at 30 and said passageways are connected by a line 31 to a junction 32. The floor 21 of the mold as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has a plurality of recesses 33 each aligned with an associated cavity C formed by the side'mernbers 23 and 24 i 3 37 of the plate 35 substantially flush with the corresponding surface of floor 21.

The floor 21 desirably has a plurality of passageways 38 extending through the upper surface 37 thereof on each of the four sides of the associated recess 33 and a plurality of passageways 41 which lead into the recesses 33 as is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The

passageways

38 and 41 are connected by lines 42 and 43 to junction 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, the junction 32 is connected by line 44 to the port 45 of a selector valve 46. The valve 46" has an outer casing 47 and an inner rotatable valve member 48 which in one position will connect port 45 to a port 51 which may be connected through a dust collector to a vacuum pump (not shown) and in a second position will connect a port 52 connected by line 53 to line 44, to a port 54 which leads to the atmosphere.

The head 13 of the mold 11 desirably comprises a substantially rectangular block 61 of length and width such that it may extend over the

side members

23, 24 when they are in closed position. Aifixed to theundersurface of block 61 as by bonding is a sheet 62 of resilientmaterial illustratively of rubber, of dimensions such that its' end and side edges will cover the upper surfaces of the side and'end

walls

14, 15, 16, 1'7 of the mold when the latter is closed'to effect a seal in the manner hereinafter described.

The block 61 illustratively has a plurality of pairs of recesses 63 therein, eachpair being adapted to be aligned with an associated cavity C in the mold when the'latter is closed. The recesses 63 are connected by passageways 64- in the block 61 and thence by line 65 to the port 66' of a selector valve 67 which in one position may connect the port 66 to a port 68 connected to a source of pressure and in a second position may connect the port 66 to a port 69 which desirably is connected through a dust collector (not shown) to a vacuum pump.

Positioned over each of the recesses 63 and secured to the 'block 61 is a perforated'plate 71, having a screen72 thereon having relatively fine openings therethrough, the sheet 62 of resilient material having openings 73 to accommodate the plates and screens as is shown in FIG. 3.

The block 61 desirably has a plurality of annular hubs 75 on its top surface which encompass an associated conical cavity 76in said block, the apex of each of said cavities having an opening 77 aligned with a correspond ing opening 78 in sheet 62 which is positioned over an associated cavity C in the bottom portion 12 when'the' mold is ready for filling. I

Each of the hubs serves as the support for a magazine or hopper 79, illustratively a sleeve which may be charged in any suitable manner with the comminuted or pulverulent material with which the package is to be filled and suitable means P are provided to apply a source of gas under pressure to the column of material in the magazines 79. If desired, a single reservoir containing the material to be packaged can be connected to the magazines or hoppers 79.

The head 13 is suitably mounted so that it may be moved vertically toward and away from the top of the bottom portion 12 to permit insertion into the bottom portion of the mold, of the containers to be filled.

A typical receptacle 20 for use with the equipment above described in the preparation of packages of moldable, comminuted, pulverulent or other nonform-retaining material such as flour, powdered cake mixes, crust mixes, or the like is shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6 and 7.

Such receptacle 20 may comprise a rectangular container or box formed from cardboard, for example, and having end and

side flaps

81, 82 and 83, 84 at its top or mouth and its bottom respectively, extending from its end walls 85'and side walls 86;

The container 20 when assembled for filling has its end flaps 83 folded inwardly as shown in FIG. 5, said flaps 83 preferably being short so as to define a relatively large gap or space 87 therebetween. Extending over the inwardly folded flaps 83 and bridging the space 87 is a porous member or filter 91 having relatively fine openings therethrough and which preferably is a rectangular sheet of porous paper of the type generally used for wrapping bread, but which is uncoated with wax or similar material.

As is clearly shown in FIG. 5, the filter 91 is of substantially the same length as the container 20 and is of greater width than the latter so as to extend beyond the side walls 86 thereof overthe adjacent portions of flaps 84. Although the filter 91 may be'affixed to the

flaps

83, 84 in any suitable manner, it is desirably secured thereto as by gluing or heat sealing." I I I v To fill the containers 20, the

side members

23, 24 are moved apart as indicated in FIG. 1 and a container 20 with its bottom flaps 84 extending laterally outwardly is positioned in each of the spaces defined between

side walls

14, 15 and end

walls

16, 17 of the bottom portion 12. The

side members

23, 24 are then moved together to define the cavities C and the containers will be retained in the respective cavities'with the filters 9 1 positioned over the plates 35 and with the" side flaps 84:

retained between the floor 21 and the bottom surfaces of

side walls

14, 15 as shown in FIG. 4. I

With the top flaps 81, 82 folded over the'top, the side and end

walls

14, 15 and 16,17 and with selector valve 46 in position to connect ports 45' and 51 suction will be provided in lines 31, 42"and 43/ The suction in line 31 will retain the

flaps

81, 82 against thetop surfaces of walls 14 to 17 and the side walls of the container against the inner surface of said walls 14m 17 and the suction in line'42 will retain the bottom flaps 84 against the floor 21 of the mold.'

The head 13 ofthe mold'is then positioned directly: over the bottom portion 12 and moved downwardly to 7 the positionsho'wn in FIGS/3 and'4 so that'the portion of the resilient sheet62 which covers the top surfaces 0f the side and end

walls

14, 15, 16 and 17 will engage the out-folded

flap

82, 81 of the container 20to provide a dependable seal. I V H With the selector value 67 in position to connect ports 66 and 69, suction will be applied through line 65 to recesses 63. As a result of such suction and the suction applied to recesses 33 through line 43, the air in the container will rapidly be evacuated or discharged therefrom.'

Thereupon, with suction desirably maintained, gas under pressure is applied to the column of pulverulent material in each of the magazines 79 to force such material through thealigned openings 77, 78 into the respective containers. The gas is preferably dried before application to the column of material so that any gas that should enter the container will have a minimum of water vapor. As such air entrained with the material will be removed through screen 72 and filter 91. However, as the openings therein are sufficiently small to preclude the passage therethrough of any of the material being forced into the container, substantially none of such material will escape into the suctionlines 43, 65. Consequently the container is jet filled at high velocity (the container being at least 1 after the vacuum in the container 20, due to the suction applied thereto, reaches a predetermined amount.

After the container is charged, the gas pressure on the charges of material in the magazines 79 may be released and the selector valve 46 is set to connect

ports

52 and 54. Consequently,thepressurein suctionlines 31, 42

and 43 and against

flaps

81, 82 and 84 and in recesses 33 will rise to atmospheric to permit ready removal of the container. The selector valve 67 may be set to connect ports 66 and 68 so that gas under pressure will be applied to line 65 and through perforated plates 71 to blow away from the screen 72 against the compacted material in the container, any material that may adhere thereto.

The head 13 is then moved away from the bottom portion 12 to permit removal of the charged container. As the portion of the charge of material remaining in magazines 79 will also be compacted due to the action of the gas pressure against the material in the conical cavities 76, none of such material will fall through openings 78 during and after such movement of the head 13. If

desired, the openings 78 may be provided with valves of suitable form (e.g., flap, cylinder, etc.) which may be manually or otherwise operated.

By reason of the filter 91 at the bottom of the charged containers against which the material forced into the container will compact, there will be no escape of such material through the filter when the containers are removed from the mold. Thereupon the bottom and top flaps of the container may be sealed in conventional manner to close the container to complete the package.

The embodiment of the receptacle 20' shown in FIG. 8 is a cup-shaped container, illustratively a truncated cone. The mouth 101 of the container 20 desirably has a lip 102 to receive a conventional cover disc (not shown). The base of the container 20 has a screen 103 extending thereacross which may alsobe of porous paper such as is previously described.

The container 20' may be filled with pulverulent material by means similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and after it is filled and removed from the molding equipment the undersurface of the screen 103 may be covered with wax or lacquer to fill up the pores in the screen or, if desired, a snap-in cover may be inserted onto the bottom of the container 20 so that when a cover disc is inserted into the mouth of the container 20' it will be completely closed for shipping.

At least a portion of the material of the container is preferably made of infusion or filter paper now commonly used, for example, in tea bags and the like. These papers may carry on at least a portion of their surface thermoplastic fibers or coatings to facilitate heat sealing thereof while at the same time permitting a high rate of passage of air therethrough. For example, in one form of such paper using only one ounce differential pressure, the paper passes 93 cubic inches per second per square inch of effective filter area. At this rate, a container of 9 cubic inches capacity can be effectively evacuated in a small fraction of a second through an area of paper of only 1 square inch.

By reason of the compacting of the nonform-retaining material, a given weight of material will occupy a considerably smaller volume than a corresponding non-compacted weight of the same material. Thus, for certain pulverulent materials compacted at a pressure of 100 p.s.i., for example, the volume of the package may be approximately sixty percent of the volume of an equivalent weight of non-compacted material. Consequently, the amount of shelf space to store and display the packages is greatly reduced as is the quantity of material to form the container.

In addition, as interstitial spaces are reduced to a minimum and as there is substantially no head space, there will be little air with its entrained Water vapor in the completed package which gives increased flexibility in the type and formulation of materials than can be packaged.

As many changes could be made in the above method, equipment and articles, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted. as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Iclaim:

1. A container for small particles of material comprising a'receptacle having. a wall portion and a bottom portion of substantially gas impermeable material and a mouth at the top thereof and a gas permeable filter member in said bottom portion opposed to said mouth, said filter member having openings of a size to permit only the passage of gas therethrough while precluding the passage of the pulverulent material and closure means at the top and bottom portion of the receptacle for closing said container upon the filling thereof with material.

2. A container for pulverulent material comprising a substantially rectangular receptacle having side flaps at the bottom thereof and a gas permeable filter member across such bottom secured to said side flaps, said filter member having relatively fine openings therethrough of a size ,to permit only the passage of gas therethrough while precluding the passage of the pulverulent material.

3. A container for pulverulent mate-rial comprising a substantially rectangular receptacle having side and end flaps at the bottom thereof, said end flaps being folded inwardly with a gap between their free ends, a gas permeable filter member secured to said side flaps, extending across the bottom of said receptacle and bridging said gap, said filter member having relatively fine openings therethrough of a size to permit only the passage of gas therethrough while precluding the passage of the pulverulent material.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which said filter member is of porous paper.

5. A sealable receptacle particularly adapted to be filled with pulverulent material under the influence of a gaseous medium, said receptacle comprising a side wall portion, a bottom portion and an open mouth, means for sealing said month, said receptacle portions being formed of a substantially gas impermeable material, one of said substantially gas impermeable portions having an opening through said one portion for the free passage of gas from within the receptacle during the filling thereof, and filter means closing said opening against the passage of pulverulent material and simultaneously permitting free passage of gas therethrough, and closure means at the bottom portion of the receptacle for closing said receptacle upon the filling thereof with material.

6. A sealable receptacle particularly adapted to be filled with pulverulent material under the influence of a gaseous'medium, said receptacle comprising substantially gas impermeable wall portions defining a sealable cavity having an open mouth for the purpose of filling said cavity and an opening other than said mouth for the free passage of gas from within said receptacle to the exterior, and a filter member permanently secured to said wall portion surrounding said opening for closing said opening against the passage of pulverulent material during a filling operation and simultaneously permitting free passage of the gaseous medium therethrough and closure means for closing said opening and said mouth upon the filling of said receptacle with material.

7. The container of claim 1 wherein the receptacle is substantially circular in cross section.

8. The container of claim 1 wherein the receptacle is substantially circular in cross section and the closure means at the bottom portion of the receptacle is in the form of a coating of substantially non-porous material filling the pores in said filter member.

9. The container of claim 8 wherein the coating is in the form of a wax.

10. The container of claim 8 wherein the coating is in the form of a lacquer.

(References on following page) Robson 229-:43" Ortner.

Marshall.

Rosrnait 229'-62.5 Carter et a1. 2296 Osterdahl.

8 Heritage. Pauley. De La Foret 2296 Seck.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, WESLEY S. COLE,

Examiners.

Claims

1. A CONTAINER FOR SMALL PARTICLES OF MATERIAL COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE HAVING A WALL PORTION AND A BOTTOM PORTION OF SUBSTANTIALLY GAS IMPERMEABLE MATERIAL AND A MOUTH AT THE TOP THEREOF AND A GAS PERMEABLE FILTER MEMBER IN SAID BOTTOM PORTION OPPOSED TO SAID MOUTH, SAID FILTER MEMBER HAVING OPENINGS OF A SIZE TO PERMIT ONLY THE PASSAGE OF GAS THERETHROUGH WHILE PRECLUDING THE PASSAGE OF THE PULVERULENT MATERIAL AND CLOSURE MEANS AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM PORTION OF THE RECEPTACLE FOR CLOSING SAID CONTAINER UPON THE FILLING THEREOF WITH MATERIAL.