Claims
- 1. Apparatus for forming reinforced flat bottom bags from a tubular sleeve having opposed faces and gusseted sides, comprising means for supporting said sleeve, a plurality of foraminous plenum chambers, one of said chambers located adjacent each of the faces of said sleeve, means for moving said plenum chambers toward and away from each other to engage the respective faces of said sleeve and thereafter movable outwardly, means for seaming closed one end of said sleeve to seal said opposed faces together with the gusseted sides therebetween, means for applying a vacuum through said plenum chambers on the outward movement thereof to cause the faces of said sleeve to adhere thereto and to open said sleeve, means for cutting said sleeve into individual bag sleeves before said bag sleeves are opened, a mandrel movable into the other end of each said bag sleeve to press against the seamed end flattening the gusseted sides and forming flaps having folds with the opposed faces in overlying relationship, and means for securing selected portions of said flaps and said overlying sides and faces to form a reinforced bottom.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said mandrel has a rectangular face conforming to the cross section of said bag sleeve and is provided with the means for securing the flaps overlying the sides and faces in said rectangular configuration forming a flat bottom.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said bag sleeve is formed of plastic material and said seams are formed by heat sealing.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said plastic material is supplied as a substantially endless reel prefolded with its opposing faces and gusseted sides into a continuous sheet, said apparatus including means for supporting said reel, withdrawing a predetermined length conforming to said bag sleeve from said reel.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 1 including a plate movable over the exterior surface of the seamed end of said bag sleeve to cooperate with said mandrel to press said end into its bottom shape.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means for impressing a flow of air into the other end of said bag sleeve on the outward movement of said foraminous chambers.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means for collapsing said open bag sleeve after formation of the bottom comprising means for folding said gusseted sides inwardly and for folding said flat bottom against one face of said bag sleeve.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 7 including means for removing the collapsed bag sleeve from between said foraminous chambers.
- 9. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means for folding said gusseted sides comprises a pair of fingers movable into engagement with said sides until the same are folded and then retractable therefrom.
- 10. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means for folding said bottom comprises a bar movable into engagement with one face of said bag sleeve below said bottom.
- 11. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said bar is spaced from the bottom of said bag sleeve to permit said bottom to fold thereover, said bar being pivotable upwardly between said bottom and the face of said bag sleeve to lift said bag sleeve from between said foraminous chambers.
- 12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said bar is mounted in cooperation with one of said foraminous chambers, said foraminous chamber being formed in two parts, the part adjacent said bar being movable rearwardly from the face of said bag sleeve on the upward pivoting of said bar.
- 13. The apparatus according to claim 4 including means for impressing the flow of air under pressure outwardly of said foraminous chamber on withdrawal of said predetermined length of bag sleeve from said reel.
- 14. The apparatus according to claim 13 where said foraminous plate is formed with holes angled to the horizontal in the direction of movement of said withdrawn sleeve.
- 15. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the means for supporting said reel comprises a rotatable shaft and the means for withdrawing the predetermined length therefrom comprises a pair of engaging pull rollers extending parallel to said shaft and spaced from said shaft to receive the end of said continuous sheet and means for intermittently rotating said pull rollers to withdraw said predetermined length.
- 16. The apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said pull rollers are arranged to support said sheet in a vertical plane, said cutting means being arranged below said pull rollers, said foraminous chambers being arranged parallel to said plane and movable into engagement with the faces of said sheet prior to the cutting of said sleeve from said reel, to thereby support said sleeve.
- 17. The apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said cutting means and said means for forming said seam are mounted on a common support and operable simultaneously.
- 18. In an apparatus for forming a reinforced flat bottom plastic bag from a roll of plastic tubing having opposed faces and gussetted sides, means on said apparatus to support the roll of plastic tubing and means to dispense the same from said support means, means operable on said apparatus to engage the faces of the plastic tubing to seal the same together with the gussetted sides therebetween and to form the bag bottom at one end thereof and to sever a length of the sealed tubing from the roll thereof to form the bag length, means adjacent the length of the bag to cause the faces thereof to separate and to open the length of the bag after the bag length is severed, a mandrel movable into the open severed end of the bag and engaging the gussetted sides to press and flatten the same against the bag bottom thereby forming reinforcing flaps relative to the bag bottom and opposed faces sealed together.
- 19. In an apparatus as in claim 18, means cooperating with said mandrel when the same flattens the gussetted sides against the bag bottom to secure the reinforcing flaps to the related opposed faces.
- 20. In an apparatus as in claim 19, means operable on said apparatus to engage and collapse the bag at the gussetted sides thereof and to fold the bag bottom against one of the opposed faces.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 472,167 filed May 22, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,521.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
472167 |
May 1974 |
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