U.S. patent application number 10/350973 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-29 for material bagging machine having a bag folder mounted thereon.
Invention is credited to Cullen, Steven R..
Application Number | 20040144067 10/350973 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32735690 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040144067 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cullen, Steven R. |
July 29, 2004 |
Material bagging machine having a bag folder mounted thereon
Abstract
A bagging machine for bagging organic and other materials such
as compost, silage, grain, sawdust, dirt, sand, etc., comprising a
mobile frame means, a material receiving means, a material packing
means on the mobile frame means in communication with the material
receiving means, a rearwardly extending material forming means in
communication with the material packing means and a bag folding
means associated with the material forming means.
Inventors: |
Cullen, Steven R.; (Astoria,
OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KOLISCH HARTWELL, P.C.
520 S.W. YAMHILL STREET
SUITE 200
PORTLAND
OR
97204
US
|
Family ID: |
32735690 |
Appl. No.: |
10/350973 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
53/567 ;
53/576 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01F 25/14 20130101;
B65B 9/15 20130101; A01F 2025/145 20130101; B65B 9/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
053/567 ;
053/576 |
International
Class: |
B65B 009/15 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A bagging machine for bagging material, comprising: a mobile
frame means having rearward and forward ends; a material receiving
means on said mobile frame means; a material packing means on said
mobile frame means; a material packing means on said mobile frame
means in communication with said material receiving means; a
rearwardly extending material forming means in communication with
said material packing means; and a mechanized bag folding means
associated with said material forming means; said bag folding means
adapted to receive an unfolded plastic bag and position the same
around said material forming means in a folded condition.
2. The bagging machine of claim 1 wherein said bag folding means
positions the folded bag at the forward end of said material
forming means.
3. The bagging machine of claim 1 wherein said material forming
means comprises a tunnel.
4. The bagging machine of claim 3 wherein said tunnel includes a
top wall portion and opposite side wall portions.
5. The bagging machine of claim 1 wherein said material forming
means has inner and outer surfaces and wherein said bag folding
means is positioned at said outer surface of said material forming
means.
6. The bagging machine of claim 5 wherein said bag folding means
comprises a plurality of elongated, spaced-apart supports, having
rearward and forward ends, positioned at least partially around
said material forming means; at least some of said supports having
one or more driven members thereon which move the unfolded bag
forwardly with respect to said material forming means.
7. The bagging machine of claim 6 wherein said driven members
comprise rollers.
8. The bagging machine of claim 6 wherein said driven members
comprise wheels.
9. The bagging machine of claim 6 wherein said driven members
comprise an endless belt.
10. The bagging machine of claim 6 wherein a plurality of idler
members are mounted on said material forming means opposite said
driven members to that the unfolded bag is moved forwardly with
respect to said material forming means between said driven members
and said idler members.
11. The bagging machine of claim 6 wherein said rearward ends of
said elongated supports are yieldably urged towards said material
forming means.
12. The bagging machine of claim 6 wherein said elongated supports
are yieldably urged towards said material forming means.
13. The bagging machine of claim 10 wherein said driven members are
yieldably urged towards said idler members.
14. The bagging machine of claim 10 wherein said idler members are
yieldably urged towards said driven members.
15. The bagging machine of claim 1 wherein said bag folding means
comprises a plurality of spaced-apart supports positioned at least
partially around said material forming means; at least some of said
supports having one or more driven members thereon which move the
unfolded bag forwardly with respect to said material forming
means.
16. The bagging machine of claim 15 wherein said driven members
comprise rollers.
17. The bagging machine of claim 15 wherein said driven members
comprise wheels.
18. The bagging machine of claim 15 wherein said driven members
comprise a belt.
19. The bagging machine of claim 15 wherein a plurality of movable
idler members are mounted on said material forming means opposite
said driven members to that the unfolded bag is moved forwardly
with respect to said material forming means between said driven
members and said idler members.
20. The bagging machine of claim 15 wherein said supports are
yieldably urged towards said material forming means.
21. The bagging machine of claim 19 wherein said idler members are
yieldably urged towards said driven members.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a material bagging machine for
bagging organic and other materials such as silage, compost, grain,
sawdust, dirt, sand, etc., and more particularly to a bagging
machine having a bag folder mounted thereon.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Agricultural feed and compost bagging machines have been
employed for several years to pack or bag silage, compost or the
like into elongated plastic bags. Two of the earliest bagging
machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,061 and 4,046,068.
Applicant is the named inventor in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,424,051;
5,295,554; 5,297,377; 5,313,768; 5,345,744; 5,355,659; 5,367,860;
5,396,753; 5,398,736; 5,408,809; 5,408,810; 5,421,142; 5,425,220;
5,426,910; 5,452,562; 5,463,849; 5,464,049; 5,517,806; 5,671,594;
5,775,069; 5,784,865; 5,799,472; 5,857,313; 5,894,713; 5,899,247;
5,904,031; 5,960,612; 6,009,692; 6,443,194, all of which relate to
bagging machines. In the prior art bagging machines, silage,
compost or the like is supplied to the forward or intake end of the
bagging machine and is fed to a packing means such as a rotor,
screw conveyor or the like which conveys the material into a tunnel
on which a folded plastic bag is positioned. As the packing means
forces silage through the tunnel, the folded bag is pulled from the
tunnel to enclose the material being bagged. As the material is
packed into the bag, the bagging machine moves away from the filled
end of the bag in a controlled fashion so as to achieve compaction
of the material within the bag.
[0005] In the present state of the art, the manufacturers of the
plastic silage/compost bag must blow or extrude the plastic into a
tubular/bag shape, roll it onto a core, fold it into a collar, and
then put the same into a box or container, which is palleted for
convenient shipping. Once the box is delivered to the field, it may
take several men and a crane to lift the folded bag out of the box
and feed it by hand over and onto the tunnel. The bag is
laboriously pushed onto the tunnel until the bag is gathered at the
forward end of the tunnel so that the bag is ready for filling and
packing.
[0006] A major disadvantage and cost of the current method of
manufacturing plastic bags for use on bagging machines is the
sophisticated and expensive machinery required by the manufacturers
to fold the bags after the blowing or extruding process. Only a few
manufacturers have such costly machines, who pass the processing
and material costs onto the end user. Secondly, the extra steps
necessary to convert the roll of plastic into a bag, fold the bag
into a box, load the individual boxes into a larger container for
shipping, and then to transport and deliver those boxes to the
consumers adds time, packaging, space requirements, handling
equipment, manpower and disposal costs to the entire process.
[0007] A further problem created by the present method of putting
plastic bags onto the tunnel or material forming means on the
bagging machine is the physical strain and danger to the men who
load the bag onto the tunnel. The newer, bigger bags
(14'.times.500') weigh up to 1200 lbs and the industry trend is for
even larger tunnels and even longer bags.
[0008] There is a need to replace the old process of manufacturing
the bags and the installation of the same on the bagging machines
to reduce manufacturing and handling costs, improve safety and
worker ergonomics, and eliminate the stranglehold a few
manufacturers have on bag distributors and consumers. The purpose
of the invention is to do away with the costly pre-folding of
plastic bags and the packaging of one bag per box, which must be
hand-mounted onto the machine, and replace that method wherein an
unfolded bag is placed on the rearward end of the tunnel with a bag
folding apparatus mounted on the tunnel moving the bag forwardly on
the tunnel and causing the same to be unfolded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] A bagging machine for bagging organic and other material
such as compost, silage, grain, sawdust, dirt, sand, etc., is
described. The bagging machine comprises a mobile frame means, a
material receiving means on the mobile frame means, a material
packing means on the mobile frame means in communication with the
material receiving means, a rearwardly extending material forming
means in communication with the material packing means and a bag
folding means associated with the material forming means. The bag
folding means comprises a plurality of elongated arms mounted on
the material forming means in a spaced-apart relationship with
respect to one another. The rearward ends of the elongated supports
have driven rollers, wheels or belts mounted thereon for driving
engagement with the unfolded bag which has been positioned on the
rearward end of the material forming means. Preferably, the
material forming means has a plurality of idler rollers, wheels,
endless belts, etc., mounted thereon in such a manner so that the
unfolded bag is positioned between the idler rollers, wheels, or
endless belts and the driven rollers, wheels, endless belts, on the
support members so that the unfolded bag is moved forwardly towards
the forward end of the material forming means. The elongated arms
may also have idler rollers, wheels, endless belts, etc., mounted
thereon forwardly of the rearward end thereof which are positioned
opposite to idler rollers, wheels mounted on the material forming
means. The unfolded bag is automatically folded when it reaches the
forward end of the material forming means. Either or both of the
idler rollers, wheels, endless belts and the driven rollers, wheels
and endless belts are preferably yieldably urged into engagement
with the bag positioned therebetween.
[0010] A principal object of the invention is to provide a material
bagging machine having a bag folder mounted thereon.
[0011] Another object of the invention is to provide a bag folder
for a material bagging machine which positions an unfolded bag onto
the tunnel of the machine so that the bag is folded as it is moved
forwardly on the tunnel.
[0012] Yet another object of the invention is to eliminate the need
for handling folded bags for bagging machines as they are
customarily handled.
[0013] Still another object of the invention is to provide a method
and means which eliminates the need for workmen to manipulate heavy
folded bags.
[0014] These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a side view of a bagging machine having a bag
folder mounted thereon;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a side view of the rearward end of the bagging
machine and the bag folder mounted thereon;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a rear view of the bag folder mounted on the
tunnel;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bag folder of this
invention mounted on a tunnel;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating idler rollers positioned
on the exterior of the tunnel and idler rollers positioned on the
elongated arms; and
[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates an idler endless belt mounted on the
exterior surface of the tunnel which is positioned opposite to a
driven endless belt.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] The numeral 10 refers to a bagging machine such as marketed
by Versa Corporation, Astoria, Oreg. The bagging machine is
intended to bag organic material such as compost, silage, grain,
sawdust, etc., within a conventional bag. The machine 10 may also
be used to bag dirt or sand to create temporary dikes during
flooding. Machine 10 is seen to include a wheeled frame 12. The
machine 10 may be of the type which is pulled by a prime mover such
as a tractor. Although frame 12 shown in the drawings as wheeled,
it is possible that the wheels could be omitted in some
machines.
[0022] Further, the machine could be truck-mounted such as seen in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,865. The machine 10 illustrated in the drawings
is self-propelled such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,472.
For purposes of description, machine 10 will be described as having
a forward end 14 and a rearward end 16. Machine 10 is provided with
a material receiving means 18 at its forward end which may be in
the form of: (1) a feed table such as seen in U.S. Pat. No.
5,297,377; (2) a hopper such as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,736;
(3) a feed mechanism such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,763; (4)
a feed mechanism such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,860; or (5) a
hopper such as seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,802; 5,419,102; and
5,724,793. The purpose of the material receiving means is to
receive the material to be bagged and deliver the same to a
material packing means 20 positioned at the forward end of a
material shaping or forming means. The material packing means may
be: (1) a rotor such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,396,753;
5,297,377; 5,799,472; 5,295,554; (2) a screw conveyor such as seen
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,802 or 5,419,102; (3) a plunger such as
seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,793; or (4) the packing fingers
described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,061.
[0023] The material forming or shaping means is preferably a tunnel
22. The size (diameter) of the tunnel 22 will depend on the desired
bag diameter. A face plate 24 is normally secured to the forward
end of the tunnel 22 with the face plate 24 being secured to the
frame of the machine. In some machines, the face plate is
permanently mounted on the machine with the tunnel being secured to
the face plate. Various tunnels are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,899,247; 5,396,753; 5,297,377; 5,799,472; 5,398,736; 5,355,659;
5,295,554; 5,140,802; 5,419,102; 5,421,142; 5,724,793; 5,894,713.
Normally, the tunnel 22 will include a top wall 26, side walls 28
and 30, and at least a partial bottom wall 32. Normally, a bag pan
34 is provided below the floor or bottom wall 32 for supporting the
folded bag thereon in conventional fashion. Face plate 24 includes
an opening 36 through which the material passes to the interior of
the tunnel when a rotor is utilized as the packing means. If
plungers, screw conveyors, etc., are utilized as the packing means,
the face plate may or may not be included and opening 36 will be
omitted. The design of the material receiving means, packing means,
frame and forming means do not form a part of the instant
invention. The purpose of the instant invention is to pull a
plastic unfolded bag from a roll or container positioned adjacent
the rear end of the machine and to pull that material forwardly
around the tunnel by means of a bag folding means which moves the
unfolded bag forwardly on the tunnel and which causes the bag to be
folded on the tunnel as it is positioned on the tunnel.
[0024] The numeral 38 refers to a bag folding mechanism which is
designed to receive a tubular bag thereon which is stored on a roll
40 mounted on a truck or trailer 42 or a ground supported frame.
The bag is generally referred to by the reference numeral 44.
Although it is preferred that the bag 44 be in a rolled-up
condition, such as illustrated in the drawings, the bag could be
dispensed from a container much like garbage bags are stored in
boxes.
[0025] The bag folding mechanism 38 comprises a plurality of
elongated support arms 46 which are secured at their forward ends
to either the face plate 24 or the exterior surface of the tunnel
22 in any convenient manner. Preferably, the arms 46 are pivotally
secured at their rearward ends by pivot pins 48. It is preferred
that the arms 46 be spring-loaded so that the rearward ends thereof
are urged towards the exterior surface of the tunnel. A driven
wheel or roller 50 is rotatably mounted at the rearward end of each
of the arms 38 and is rotated in any convenient fashion such as by
a hydraulic motor 54. Although a hydraulic motor 54 is illustrated,
the motors could be electrically driven if so desired. As seen in
FIG. 3, the arms 38 are positioned around the exterior surface of
the tunnel 22. Preferably, a plurality of idler wheels or rollers
56 are rotatably mounted on the exterior surface of the tunnel 22
opposite to the rollers or wheels 50, as illustrated in FIG. 3. If
the rearward ends of the arms 38 are not spring-loaded to urge the
rearward ends thereof towards the tunnel but are fixed to the
tunnel or face plate, it is recommended that either or both the
wheels 50 and 56 be spring-loaded so as to be urged towards one
another to ensure that the driven wheels 50 will be in driving
engagement with the bag 44. Further, the wheels or rollers 56 could
be driven with the wheels or rollers 50 being idlers.
[0026] FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the apparatus of FIGS.
1-4 wherein additional idler wheels or rollers 56' are secured to
the exterior surface of tunnel 22 rearwardly of the rearward idler
wheels 56 to add additional support to the bag 44. Preferably, if
the idler wheels or rollers 56' are utilized, the elongated arms 38
will also have idler wheels 58 mounted along a portion of the
length thereof and which are positioned opposite to the idler
wheels or rollers 56'. In FIG. 5, it can be seen that a spring 60
is provided for each of the support arms 38 for urging the rearward
ends of the support arms 38 towards the exterior surface of the
tunnel 22. The spring 60 could be replaced by an air cylinder or
the like.
[0027] A modified form of the bag driven apparatus is illustrated
in FIG. 6 wherein the driven wheels or rollers 50 are replaced by a
driven endless track which may be in the form of a flat or V belt.
The endless belt 60 extends between rollers 62 and 64, one of which
is driven by an electric or hydraulic motor. As illustrated in FIG.
6, an endless belt idler assembly 66 is mounted on the exterior
surface of the tunnel 22 opposite to the endless belt 60.
[0028] In operation, the truck or trailer 42 carrying the roll 40
will be positioned adjacent the rearward end of the machine 10. If
the roll 40 is supported on a ground supported frame, the machine
10 will be positioned adjacent the ground supported frame. The end
of the bag 44 is positioned around the tunnel 22 so that the bag
passes between the driven rollers or wheels 50 and the idler wheels
or rollers 56. The rotational movement of the rollers or wheels 50
causes the bag 44 to be pulled forwardly along the exterior surface
of the tunnel. As the end of the bag reaches the face plate 24, the
bag material tends to fold upon itself, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
The bag 44 is pulled from the roll 40 by the driven wheels or
rollers 50 until the desired length of bag has been folded onto the
tunnel 22. At that time, if the bag has not been previously cut to
length, the bag is cut to separate the same from the roll 40.
[0029] The embodiment of FIG. 6 works identically to the
embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 5 except that the endless belt 60
engages the exterior surface of the bag rather than the driven
rollers or wheels 50.
[0030] Thus it can be seen that a novel bagging machine has been
described which includes a bag folding mechanism thereon which
eliminates the need for the factory folding, packaging, shipment
and placement of the folded bag onto the tunnel with the attendant
disadvantages set forth hereinabove.
[0031] Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least
all of its stated objectives.
* * * * *