U.S. patent application number 12/389401 was filed with the patent office on 2009-08-06 for low profile packaging assembly for loose fill insulation material.
Invention is credited to Michael E. Evans, John C. Hasselbach.
Application Number | 20090193761 12/389401 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38332586 |
Filed Date | 2009-08-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090193761 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hasselbach; John C. ; et
al. |
August 6, 2009 |
Low Profile Packaging Assembly For Loose Fill Insulation
Material
Abstract
A packaging assembly for insulation material has a compression
chamber and a surge hopper vertically mounted above the compression
chamber. An air drawing assembly positioned beneath the compression
chamber draws air through the surge hopper and the compression
chamber.
Inventors: |
Hasselbach; John C.;
(Granville, OH) ; Evans; Michael E.; (Granville,
OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OWENS CORNING
2790 COLUMBUS ROAD
GRANVILLE
OH
43023
US
|
Family ID: |
38332586 |
Appl. No.: |
12/389401 |
Filed: |
February 20, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11350216 |
Feb 8, 2006 |
7509788 |
|
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12389401 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
53/438 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 63/02 20130101;
B65B 1/24 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
53/438 |
International
Class: |
B65B 1/24 20060101
B65B001/24; B65B 1/32 20060101 B65B001/32 |
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. (canceled)
3. (canceled)
4. (canceled)
5. (canceled)
6. (canceled)
7. (canceled)
8. (canceled)
9. (canceled)
10. (canceled)
11. (canceled)
12. (canceled)
13. (canceled)
14. (canceled)
15. (canceled)
16. (canceled)
17. (canceled)
18. A method for packaging insulation material into a compressed
package, comprising: vertically dispensing the insulation material
through a packaging assembly, wherein the packaging assembly
comprises: a compression chamber having a perforated bottom wall,
the compression chamber configured to receive and vertically
compress the insulation material; a weigh chamber positioned above
the compression chamber to supply the insulation material to the
compression chamber; a surge hopper positioned above the weigh
chamber to supply insulation material to the weigh chamber; and a
single source for withdrawing air from the packaging assembly, the
source comprising an air drawing assembly positioned beneath the
compression chamber; and horizontally compressing the vertically
compressed insulation material into the compressed package of
insulation material.
19. The method of claim 18 in which the weigh chamber has an upper
opening with cross-sectional dimensions approximating the
cross-sectional dimensions of the surge hopper.
20. The method of claim 18 in which the weigh chamber and surge
hopper have perforated bottom doors.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0001] This invention relates generally to packaging of loose fill
insulation materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Packaging loose fill fibrous insulation materials typically
involves a bagging system that uses multiple pieces of fiber
handling equipment. The multiple-piece bagging system often
includes equipment to: separate the insulation materials into
loose, air-entrained quantities of insulation material; weigh the
insulation materials; compress the insulation materials; and,
finally, package the compressed insulation materials.
[0003] In the past, the multi-step bagging system had extreme
height requirements in order to be able to transfer the insulation
materials from one processing step to the next. The bagger system
typically had four platform levels and the baggers often reached
heights of about sixty-five feet. The heights of such bagger system
required major installation concerns, often requiring that the
roofs be extended.
[0004] During the operation of such bagger systems, when the
insulation material was transferred from one step to the next, the
insulation material fell into an uneven distribution. Often,
insulation materials would fall into peaked mounds. When these
peaked mounds of insulation material were compressed into a
package, the compressed mounds had an uneven distribution, or
density, of insulation materials within the package. Such
compressed packages often had more fibers in the middle of the
package, than at the edges.
[0005] Also, the uneven compression of the insulation material
sometimes caused damage to the insulation materials themselves.
Thus, the subsequent use of such packaged insulation material by an
end user was made more difficult.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A packaging assembly for packaging loose fill insulation
material into a compressed package includes an insulation material
separator for substantially evenly distributing a stream of the
loose fill insulation material.
[0007] A surge hopper assembly receives the substantially evenly
distributed insulation material from the separator assembly,
temporarily collects the substantially evenly distributed
insulation material, and subsequently disperses the insulation
material.
[0008] A compression assembly receives the substantially evenly
dispersed supply of insulation material from the surge hopper
assembly and compresses the insulation material in a substantially
uniform manner.
[0009] An air drawing assembly vertically draws air from the supply
of the loose fill insulation material in the surge hopper assembly
and the compression assembly.
[0010] Also, in certain embodiments, a weigh hopper is positioned
in communication with the surge hopper assembly and the compression
assembly. The weigh hopper receives the substantially evenly
dispersed insulation material from the surge hopper assembly;
weighs the supply of substantially evenly dispersed insulation
material; and delivers a weighed supply of the insulation material
to the compression assembly.
[0011] Various objects and advantages of this invention will become
apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1A is a schematic illustration showing a
cross-sectional view in elevation, partially in phantom, of a
packaging assembly having supplies of the loose fill insulation
material substantially evenly dispersed therein.
[0013] FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view taken along the line 1B-1B
in FIG. 1A showing a compression assembly, a ramming assembly and a
bagging assembly of the packaging assembly.
[0014] FIG. 1C is a schematic illustration showing a side view of a
surge hopper assembly and a weigh hopper assembly of the packaging
assembly shown in FIG. 1A.
[0015] FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration showing a
cross-sectional view in elevation of a compression assembly of the
packaging assembly showing, in opened position, a side seal door, a
top seal door, and a compression door; and showing, in phantom, the
doors in closed positions.
[0016] FIG. 2B is a schematic illustration, similar to FIG. 2A,
showing the loose fill insulation material in the compression
assembly; and, showing the side and top seal doors in closed
positions, and the compression door in the opened position.
[0017] FIG. 2C is a schematic illustration, similar to FIG. 2B,
showing the side and top seal doors and the compression door in
closed positions, and a ramming assembly in a partially extended
position.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration showing a locking
assembly holding the side and top seal doors on a closed and locked
position; and, showing the top seal door, in phantom, in an opened
position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] A low-profile packaging assembly 10 as shown is especially
useful to compress and then package desired quantities of loose
fill insulation material into substantially evenly compressed
packages. The low-profile packaging assembly 10 requires only a
fraction of the vertical manufacturing work space that prior bagger
systems required.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 1A, in certain embodiments, the
low-profile packaging assembly 10 includes a rotary separator
assembly 12; a surge hopper assembly 14; a weigh hopper assembly
16; a compression assembly 18; and, a single source 50 for
withdrawing air from the packaging assembly 10.
[0021] The rotary separator assembly 12 includes a separator
chamber 20 having a separator drum 21 which rotates one or more
longitudinally oriented baffles 22. The separator chamber 20 has a
first opening 24 for receiving a supply of the loose fill
insulation material 25. The separator chamber 20 has an elongated
bottom opening 26. In certain embodiments, the bottom opening 26 is
positioned above a funnel connector 28 which, in turn, is
positioned above the surge hopper assembly 14. In embodiments where
the packaging assembly 10 does not include the funnel connector 28,
the bottom opening 26 of the separator chamber 20 is directly
positioned above the surge hopper assembly 14.
[0022] The rotary separator assembly 12 also includes an
air-entraining device 30 for introducing a desired volume of air
through an air inlet duct 32 into the separator chamber 20. The
separator drum 21 is rotated to entrain, or mix, the air into the
insulation material 25 and to separate, or fluff, the adjacent
insulation materials 25. The air-to-fiber ratio can be adjusted,
depending on the type of fibers being packaged, the packaging rate
of the insulation materials, and other such parameters.
[0023] In certain embodiments, the air inlet duct 32 is configured
to allow the volume of air to be delivered into the separator drum
21 at a point substantially immediately adjacent to the opening 24
where the insulation materials 25 are being introduced into the
separator chamber 20. In certain embodiments, the air inlet duct 32
is within about 1 to about 3 inches from the insulation material
opening 24 in the separator drum 21.
[0024] The rotary separator chamber 20 has desired length and width
perimeter dimensions such that the insulation material 25 is
substantially evenly distributed as a stream of insulation material
to the surge hopper assembly 14. In certain embodiments, the rotary
separator chamber 20 has an elongated length-to-width perimeter
ratio which provides a generally level or low dispersion profile of
insulation materials, as is further explained below. In certain
embodiments, the length-to-width perimeter ratio of the separator
chamber 21 is about 5 to about 3, providing a ratio of 0.60 (width
divided by length). In other embodiments, the ratio is less than
0.8.
[0025] The packaging assembly 10 can optionally include a weigh
hopper assembly 16. The following explanation will discuss the
progress of the insulation materials 25 through the packaging
assembly 10 where the insulation materials 25 are collected by the
surge hopper assembly 14, weighed by the weigh hopper assembly 16,
and dispersed into the compression assembly 18. It should be
understood, however, that in certain embodiments, a pull rate
timing system (not shown) can also be used to eliminate the weigh
hopper assembly 16 if an additional height-reduction is required
for the packaging assembly 10. In such embodiments, the insulation
materials 25 are first collected by the surge hopper assembly 14
and then directly delivered to the compression assembly 18. Under
other operating conditions as shown in the figures herein, however,
the insulation materials 25 are first dispersed into the surge
hopper assembly 14 where they are dispersed into the weigh hopper
assembly 16, and finally dispersed into the compression assembly
18.
[0026] As best seen in FIG. 1C, the surge hopper assembly 14
defines a surge chamber 40 that includes an upper opening 42 and a
pair of opposing bottom surge hopper doors 44. In certain
embodiments, the rotary separator bottom opening 26 has
substantially the same elongated perimeter dimensions as the upper
opening 42 of the surge hopper assembly 14.
[0027] In other embodiments, the bottom opening 26 of the rotary
separator assembly 12 can be connected to the inverted funnel
connector 28, which, in turn, is connected to the surge hopper
assembly 14. In such embodiments, the inverted funnel connector 28
gradually widens such that a bottom of the funnel 28 and the upper
opening 42 of the surge hopper assembly 14 have substantially the
same elongated perimeter dimensions.
[0028] The distribution of the stream of the insulation materials
25 dispersed from the rotary separator assembly 12 into the surge
hopper assembly 14 is controlled, at least in part, by the volume
and speed of air being introduced into the insulation materials 25
within the separator chamber 20 of the rotary separator assembly 12
and by the volume of air being drawn through the packaging assembly
10 by the air-withdrawing source 50, as further explained
below.
[0029] The elongated perimeter dimensions of the bottom opening 26
of the rotary to separator assembly 12 and the elongated perimeter
dimensions of the upper opening 42 of the surge hopper assembly 14
allow for a relatively "low-profile" surge hopper body 25-s of
insulation materials 25 to accumulate on the closed bottom surge
hopper doors 44 of the surge hopper assembly 14.
[0030] The term "low-profile" is generally to be understood herein
as defining a body of insulation material having a relative uniform
and level height distribution (i.e., a flattened plateau-like shape
rather than a peaked shape). In certain embodiments, the ratio of
the height of the body at its highest point to the height of the
low-profile body at its lowest point of the low-profile body is no
greater than about 1.2 to 1, and in other embodiments, about 1.1 to
1. In certain embodiments, the cross-sectional dimension of the
low-profile body of insulation material is generally rectangular,
rather than parabolic or triangular (i.e., peaked mounds).
[0031] Since a relatively low-profile height of the surge hopper
body 25-s of insulation materials 25 is dispersed into the surge
hopper chamber 40, the surge hopper assembly 14 can be made with
desired shorter height dimensions, as compared to prior insulation
material bagging assemblies.
[0032] Referring again to FIGS. 1A and 1C, the surge hopper doors
44 extend substantially along the length and width of the surge
hopper chamber 40. Each surge hopper door 44 is operatively
connected respectively to a pneumatic actuator 45. In certain
embodiments, the surge hopper doors 44 have a plurality of
perforations 46 to allow air to be drawn through the surge hopper
assembly 14, as will be further described below.
[0033] Each surge hopper door 44 has a long side 47 and a short
side 48, as best seen in FIGS. 1A and 1C, respectively. Each surge
hopper door 44 is pivotably mounted on the long side 47 so that the
short side 48 pivots open in a downward direction, as shown in
phantom in FIG. 1C. Since the short side 48 of the surge hopper
door 44 is the side that pivots, the surge hopper chamber 40 has
reduced height requirements. While the doors 44 are closed, the
drawn air moving through the surge hopper chamber 40 pulls the
insulation material against the surge hopper doors 44, causing the
body 25-s of insulation material to spread along the surge hopper
doors 44. Since the drawn air tends to seek the path of least
resistance through the accumulating insulation material, drawn air
pulls or moves and spreads out the insulation material so that the
insulation material thus accumulates into the desired low-profile
insulation material body 25-s.
[0034] When the actuators 45 pivot the surge hopper doors 44
downwardly into the opened position, the insulation material
comprising the surge hopper body 25-s is then generally evenly
dispersed into the weigh hopper assembly 16, as schematically shown
in FIGS. 1A and 1C. The short sides 48 also allow for a rapid
dispersion of the insulation material and allow for the insulation
material to be substantially uniformly spread out along the length
of the weigh hopper chamber 60.
[0035] The weigh hopper assembly 16 defines a weigh chamber 60 that
has an upper opening 62 and a pair of opposing bottom weigh hopper
doors 64. In certain embodiments, the weigh hopper upper opening 62
has at least the same length and width dimensions as the surge
hopper assembly 14. Thus, the surge hopper body 25-s of insulation
material 25 is dispersed from the opening surge hopper doors 44
through the weigh hopper opening 62 and onto the weigh hopper doors
64.
[0036] The falling insulation materials 25 then re-accumulate as a
low-profile weigh hopper body, shown as 25-w, within the weigh
hopper assembly 16. In certain embodiments, the weigh hopper doors
64 have a plurality of perforations 66 to allow air to be drawn
through the weigh hopper assembly 16 to the compression assembly 18
below, as further described below.
[0037] Each weigh hopper door 64 has a long side 67 and a short
side 68, as best seen in FIGS. 1A and 1C, respectively. Each weigh
surge hopper door 64 is pivotably mounted on the long side 67 so
that the short side 68 pivots open in a downward direction, as
shown in phantom in FIG. 1C. Since the short side 68 of the weigh
hopper door 64 is the side that pivots, the weigh hopper chamber 60
has reduced height requirements. While the doors 64 are closed, the
drawn air moving through the weigh hopper chamber 60 pulls the
insulation material against the weigh hopper doors 64, causing the
body 25-w of the insulation material to substantially be spread
along the weigh hopper doors 64. Again, since the drawn air tends
to seek the path of least resistance through the accumulating
insulation material, the insulation material thus accumulates into
the desired low-profile insulation material body 25-w.
[0038] When the actuators 65 pivot the weigh hopper doors 64
downwardly into the open position, the insulation materials
comprising the weigh hopper body 25-w are then generally evenly
dispersed into the compression assembly 18, as schematically shown
in FIG. 1A and FIGS. 2A-2C. The short side walls 68 also allow for
a rapid dispersion of the insulation material and allow the
insulation material to be substantially uniformly spread out along
the length of the compression chamber 70.
[0039] When the weigh hopper doors 64 are opened, the accumulated
insulation material within the weigh hopper body 25-w is again
dispersed and then accumulated into a pre-compressed insulation
material body 25-p within the compression assembly 18.
[0040] Referring now in particular to FIG. 1A along with FIGS.
2A-2C, the compression assembly 18 defines a compression chamber 70
that has an upper opening 72, a perforated bottom wall 74, and
opposing first and second sidewalls 75 and 76, respectively. The
compression chamber 70 also has opposing third and fourth side
walls 77 and 78, respectively, as best seen in FIG. 1B.
[0041] In the embodiment shown, the single air-withdrawing source
50 for withdrawing air from the packaging assembly 10 is positioned
beneath the perforated compression chamber bottom wall 74 to draw
air in a vertically downward direction through the packaging
assembly 10. The amount, speed and/or negative, or suction, air
pressure can be adjusted so that the air-withdrawing source 50 can
be run intermittently, or continuously. The source 50 is connected
to a suction blower, not shown.
[0042] The air (as generally shown in FIG. 1A by arrows "a") is
drawn down through the surge hopper assembly 14, the weigh hopper
assembly 16, and through the compression assembly 18. The walls of
the surge hopper assembly 14 and the weigh hopper assembly 16 are
configured so that there is only one place, the source 50, were air
can be withdrawn from the packaging assembly 12. The drawn air
pulls the insulation materials against the surge hopper doors 44,
and holds (or applies a downward suction force on) the insulation
surge hopper body 25-s. Likewise, when the insulation materials are
dispersed into the weigh hopper assembly 16, the drawn air pulls
the insulation materials against the weigh hopper doors 64, and
holds (or applies a downward force on) the weigh hopper body
25-w.
[0043] Finally, when the insulation materials are then dispersed
into the compression assembly 18, the drawn air pulls the
insulation materials 25 down onto the perforated bottom wall 74.
The drawing of air from the compression assembly 18 during the
discharge of the weigh hopper body 25-w into the compression
assembly 18 reduces the "boiling" or upward scattering of the
insulation materials 25 back up into the weigh hopper assembly
16.
[0044] The reduction in the scattering of the insulation materials
25 in the weigh hopper assembly 16 and in the compression assembly
18 allows both the weigh hopper assembly 16 and the compression
assembly 18 to be manufactured with more efficient, and shorter,
height dimensions, as compared to prior insulation material bagging
assemblies.
[0045] The flow of drawn air through the surge hopper assembly 14,
the weigh hopper assembly 16 and the compression assembly 18 also
collects and filters out dust and/or extraneous fibers that are
generated during the packaging of the insulation materials. The
dust/fibers are collected along a common downward pathway (as shown
by axis Y in FIG. 1A) to the bottom wall 74 of the compression
assembly 18.
[0046] The vertical dust/fibers collection also provides an
improvement over prior baggers which, in the past, had needed a
great many (often ten to twelve) extraneous insulation material
collection points. In the past, the multiple dust collectors were
set at different points along the entire height of the bagger to
withdraw the dust in a horizontal direction from each processing
step.
[0047] According to one aspect of the present invention, the
generally downward airflow of the present packaging assembly 10
reduces the amount of extraneous dust/fibers that must be recycled
from the packaging assembly 10.
[0048] Thus, not only does the air-withdrawing source 50 exert the
generally downward pulling force on the surge hopper insulation
material body 25-s and the weigh hopper insulation material body
25-w, the vertically drawing air additionally provides a collecting
and filtering of the extraneous dust/fiber materials within the
packaging assembly 10.
[0049] In the compression chamber 70, the downward drawn air
pressure on the pre-compressed body 25-p continues as the
pre-compressed insulation material body 25-p is compressed, as
described further below. Also, the accumulating insulation material
body 25-p acts as a filter, collecting the dust/fiber materials.
Again, since there is substantially no other air flow within the
bagging assembly, other than that provided by the downward drawing
air, the extraneous dust/fiber materials are pulled within the
insulation material body 25-p, rather than floating about the
packaging assembly 10 or collecting in undesired locations within
the packaging assembly 10.
[0050] Referring now to FIGS. 2A-2C, the compression chamber 70
includes a curved side seal door 80, a curved top seal door 90 and
a compression door 120.
[0051] In certain embodiments, the side seal door 80, the top seal
door 90 and the compression door 120 are perforated to allow for
drawing of air through the compression chamber 70, although usually
only the compression door 120 is perforated. Thus, a continuous
negative air pressure continues to be exerted while the insulation
material is being dispersed in a downward direction through the
packaging assembly 10.
[0052] The side seal door 80 has a first end 81 pivotably mounted
on a lower section of the first side 75 of the compression assembly
18. The side seal door 80 has an outer surface 82 and an inner
surface 84. At least the inner surface 84 has an arcuate shape that
curves in a concave direction toward the compression chamber 70.
The side seal door 80 has a distal end 83 that includes a stop
member 88. The side seal door 80 is operatively connected to a
closing mechanism 85. In the embodiment shown, the closing
mechanism 85 is pivotally mounted at a first end 86 to the outer
surface 82 of the side seal door 80. In certain embodiments, the
closing mechanism 85 includes an actuator assembly 87 which enables
the side seal door 80 to be pivotally moved about its first end 81.
In other embodiments, other configurations can be used.
[0053] The top seal door 90 has a first end 91 pivotably mounted on
an upper section of the second side 76 of the compression assembly
18. The top seal door 90 has an outer surface 92 and an inner
surface 94. At least the inner surface 94 has an arcuate shape
which curves in a concave direction toward the bottom wall 74 of
the compression chamber 70. The top seal door 90 has a second, and
opposing, distal end 93 that includes a locking member 98, as best
seen in FIGS. 2B, 2C and 3. The top seal door 90 is operatively
connected to a closing mechanism 95. In the embodiment shown the
closing mechanism 95 is pivotally mounted at a first end 96 to the
inner surface 94 of the top seal door 90. In certain embodiments,
the closing mechanism 95 includes an actuator assembly 97 which
enables the top seal door 90 to be pivotally moved about its first
end 91. In other embodiments, other configurations can be used.
[0054] In certain embodiments, as best shown in FIG. 3, the
compression assembly 18 also includes at least one locking assembly
100 that is configured to hold the top seal door 90 in a closed and
locked position against the side seal door 80. In the embodiment
shown, there are locking assemblies 100 mounted on both the third
and fourth sides 77 and 78 of the compression chamber 70. For ease
of explanation, however, only one locking mechanism 100 will be
explained in detail. Also, in certain embodiments, there can be
only one locking mechanism 100.
[0055] The locking assembly 100 includes an actuator 102 which
operatively extends and retracts a locking piston 104. A distal end
of the locking piston 104 is connected to a pivotably moving
locking hub 105. An interlocking member 106 is secured to a distal
end of the locking hub 105. A stop plate bracket mechanism 108 is
mounted within the compression chamber 70 in a spaced apart
relationship near the locking hub 105.
[0056] When the side and top seal doors 80 and 90 are pivoted to a
closed position, the side and top seal distal ends 83 and 93 are
brought into contact with each other. The side seal distal end 83
is pivoted in a downward arcuate direction while the top seal
distal end 93 is pivoted in an upward arcuate direction, as shown
in FIGS. 2C and 3. The stop member 88 on the side seal distal end
83 contacts the stop plate 108 which prevents the side seal door 80
from any further arcuate travel.
[0057] In certain embodiments, the side seal door distal end 83 can
include a flange 113. Likewise, the top seal door distal end 93 can
include a flange 115 which is brought into engagement with the side
seal flange 113 when the side and top seal doors 80 and 90 are in a
closed position.
[0058] As the side seal door 80 is pivoted downwardly and the top
seal door 90 is pivoted upwardly, the locking mechanism 100 is
activated to extend the locking piston 104 and thereby pivot the
locking hub 105 about its axis. Thus, as the top seal door 90 is
pivoted upwardly, the locking member 98 on the top seal door 90 is
also pivoted upwardly. Simultaneously, as the locking hub 105 is
pivoted about its axis, the interlocking member 106 is also pivoted
in an upward direction to secure the locking member 98. The top
seal door 90 is held in the locked position at two locations along
its moment arm, i.e., at the first end 96 of the closing mechanism
90 and at the locking member 98. The engagement of the locking
member 98 with the interlocking member 106 aids in providing an
additional sealing of the top seal distal end 93 (and flanges 115,
if present) against the side seal distal end 83 (and flange 113, if
present).
[0059] In certain embodiments, the locking mechanism 100
substantially eliminates the need to solely rely on the forces
applied by the side and top seal door actuators 85 and 95 to hold
the side and top seal doors, 80 and 90, in a closed position. The
locking mechanism 100 also allows a close tolerance to be
established between the top and side seal doors, 80 and 90.
[0060] Referring again to FIGS. 2A-2C, when the side seal door 80
and the top seal door 90 are pivoted to a closed position, the
inner faces 84 and 94 on the side seal and top seal doors 80 and 90
form a closed compression chamber 70-p, as shown in FIGS. 2B and
2C.
[0061] After the side and top seal doors 80 and 90 are closed, the
compression door 120 is then closed, as shown in phantom in FIG.
2A, and as shown in FIG. 2C. The compression door 120 has a first
end 121 pivotably mounted on a lower section of the second side 76
of the compression assembly 18. As shown in FIG. 2A, the
compression door 120 has an outer surface 122 and an inner surface
124. At least the inner surface 124 of the compression door 120 has
a straight, or planar, shape. The compression door 120 has a
second, and opposing, distal end 123. The compression door 120 is
operatively connected to a closing mechanism 125. In the embodiment
shown, the closing mechanism 125 is pivotally mounted at a first
end 126 to the outer surface 122 of the compression door 120. In
certain embodiments, the closing mechanism 125 includes an actuator
assembly 127 which enables the compression door 120 to be pivotally
moved about its first end 121.
[0062] When the side seal door 80 and the top seal door 90 are
fully extended to the closed position, they cooperate to form an
arced sealing surface. When the compression door 120 is pivotably
moved to a closed position, as shown in FIG. 2C, the distal end 123
of the compression door 120 is moved in an arcuate direction toward
the bottom wall 74 of the compression chamber 70. The distal end
123 travels in the arcuate downward path, sweeping along the arced
sealing surfaces of the closed inner faces 84 and 94 of the side
and top seal doors 80 and 90.
[0063] The side seal door closing mechanism 85, the top seal door
closing mechanism 95, and the locking mechanism 100 hold the side
and top seal doors 80 and 90 in a secure position. The locking
mechanism 100 thus allows a desirably close clearance to be
established between the closed side and top seal doors 80 and 90
and the compression door 120 when the compression door 120 is
pivotably moved to a closed position, as shown in FIG. 2C. Since
there is a close clearance between the opening 72 and the locked
side and top seal doors 80 and 90 the compression assembly 18 has
reduced height requirements.
[0064] The locking mechanism 100 provides sufficient rigidity to
the cooperating side seal door 80 and the top seal door 90 to
substantially eliminate the insulation material from passing
between the distal end 123 of the compression door 120 and the
arced sealing surface during the pivoting of the compression door
120.
[0065] In certain embodiments, one or more of the side seal door
80, the top seal door 90, the locking mechanism 100, and/or the
compression door 120 are pivotably mounted using bearing mechanisms
89, 99, 109 and/or 129, respectively. The bearing mechanisms 89,
99, 109 and/or 129 reduce or prevent excessive wear caused by the
rapid, and repeated, openings and closings of the side seal door
80, the top seal door 90, the locking mechanism 100, and/or the
compression door 120. The bearing mechanisms 89, 99, 109 and/or 129
are mounted externally to the compression chamber 70 so that they
can be easily monitored for any undesired fiber build-up. In such
embodiments, the use of such bearing mechanisms 89, 99, 109 and/or
129 eliminates the need for hinges within the compression assembly
18. In the past, substantially catastrophic failures occasionally
occurred when hinges were contaminated with loose fibers. Also,
since at least a portion of the hinge was exposed to insulation
materials inside the compression chamber, the hinge could not be
readily monitored for undesired fiber build-up within the
hinge.
[0066] Also, with the elimination of hinges, there is little or no
wear within the pivoting ends 81, 91 and/or 121 of the doors 80, 90
and/or 120, respectively. In the past, the wearing on pivot ends
also often caused a change in the alignment and clearances among
the doors. Since wear was known and expected to occur in the prior
baggers, such baggers were made with sufficiently large tolerances
in order to accommodate for such eventual and expected wear. Also,
in the past, the changes in alignments and clearances between the
doors also caused the fibers to collect along the hinge pivot
points, causing still further changes in clearances and alignment
of the doors.
[0067] In the present invention, since the compression assembly 18
provides a close alignment of each of the side seal door 80, the
top seal door 90 and the compression door 120, the height
requirements of the compression chamber 70 are further reduced.
[0068] Referring now to FIG. 1A along with FIGS. 2A-2C, the
compression assembly 18 is shown as receiving the weigh hopper
insulation material body 25-w. The weigh hopper insulation material
body 25-w is dispersed and falls or accumulates into another
low-profile body, shown as a pre-compressed body 25-p. The side
seal door 80 and the top seal door 90 are then pivotally closed, as
explained above. The compression door 120 is then pivotably moved
to the closed, or horizontal, position adjacent to the bottom wall
74 of the compression chamber 70. Thus, the closed compression door
120 and the perforated bottom wall 74 define a ramming chamber
130.
[0069] As seen by referring to both FIGS. 2B and 2C, the
compression door 120 contacts and then compresses the
pre-compressed insulation material body 25-p on the bottom wall 74
of the compression assembly 18 to form a compressed insulation
material body 25-c within the ramming chamber 130.
[0070] The generally level or low-profile height dimension of the
pre-compressed body 25-p thus provides a substantially even
distribution of insulation materials within the compressed body
25-c. Also, the negative air pressure being applied by the air
drawing source 50 through the bottom wall 74 aids in pulling the
pre-compressed body 25-p against the bottom wall 74 as the
pre-compressed body 25-p is formed into the compressed body 25-c
within the ramming chamber 130.
[0071] The ramming chamber 130 is in a horizontal alignment with a
ramming assembly 140. The compression door 120 remains in the
closed position while the ramming assembly 140 is engaged, as shown
in FIG. 2C, and is extended into the ramming chamber 130. The
ramming assembly 140 includes a ram 142 having a ram head 145 which
is fully extended from and retracted into a guiding system 144. The
ramming assembly 140 also eliminates the need for rack and pinion
guiding systems, or other rigorous guiding systems.
[0072] In certain embodiments, the ramming assembly 140 also
reduces ram failures and/or twisting of the ram during its travel,
which often occurred with the previously used compression rams. The
ramming assembly 140 can also withstand greater compression loads
than previous systems. The ram head 145 has a leading face 146 and
a rear face 147 that are spaced apart at a distance "b", as shown
in FIG. 2A. The ramming chamber 130 (as defined by the perforated
bottom wall 74 and the compression door 120 when the compression
door 120 is pivotably moved to the closed position) has a distance,
or height, "c", also as shown in FIG. 2A. The distance "b" between
the leading and rear faces 146 and 147 is at least as long as the
distance, or height, "c" between the perforated bottom wall 74 and
the closed compression door 120. In some embodiments, the distance
"b" has a length that is at lest 1.2 times the height "c"/
[0073] The distance "b" between the front and rear faces 146 and
147 also provides the ram head 145 with additional stability and
less undesirable torquing or twisting movement as the ram 142 is
extended and retracted in the ramming chamber 130. The ram head 145
provides a desired greater surface contact along the edge of the
travel within the ramming chamber 130, thus distributing the
compressive load on the insulation material body 25-c more
uniformly. This more even distribution of compressive loads by the
ram head 145 on the insulation material also reduces the wear,
maintenance and/or replacement costs of the ram 142 and the guiding
system 144.
[0074] The ramming assembly 140 substantially eliminates operating
failures which might stem from insulation material build-up between
the ram 142 and the bottom wall 74 of the compression chamber
70.
[0075] In the packaging assembly 10, the ram 142 travels in a
horizontal orientation, rather than a vertical orientation. The
horizontal orientation of the ram 142 reduces, or eliminates, the
problems that had previously occurred with the prior bagger
systems' vertical compression of insulation materials. In the past,
the extraneous dust/fibers would collect on a top face of a
vertically traveling ram, and an undesirable build-up of insulation
materials would form between the vertical ram and the top of its
housing. In the past, this vertical fiber build-up also resulted in
system failures since the dust/fibers materials restricted, or
prevented, the vertically traveling ram from making a complete
up-and-down cycle.
[0076] According to this embodiment of the present invention, when
the ram 142 is retracted in the horizontal direction, any
insulation material that might collect behind the ram head 145 then
is pushed by the rear face 147 into contact with the perforated
bottom wall 74 of the compression chamber 70. The air-withdrawing
source 50 then removes any loose fibers, thereby maintaining the
ram 142 is a clean condition. this reduced maintenance required to
clean out fiber build up.
[0077] Referring again in particular to FIGS. 1B and 2C, as the ram
142 is extended, the compressed body 25-c is further compressed
into a compressed package 25-k of insulation material 25. The
compressed package 25-k is moved by the ram 142 into alignment with
a bagging assembly 160, as best shown in the plan view in FIG. 2B.
The bagging assembly 160 generally includes a discharge door 162, a
discharge ram 165, and a bagging device 170. The horizontal
orientation of the bagging assembly 160 also reduces the height
requirements of the packaging assembly 10.
[0078] The bagging device 170 includes a snout 172 which has a bag
180 positioned over the snout 172. The discharge ram 165 is
extended to push the package 25-p horizontally along the snout 172
and into the bag 180. The discharged packaged 25-k substantially
fills the bag 180 and pushes the bag 180 off the snout 172 and onto
a conveyor (not shown) for weigh-checking and sealing. In certain
embodiments, during the bagging operation, opposing sidewalls of
the snout 172 are collapsed to allow another bag to be positioned
on the end thereof.
[0079] The horizontal orientation of the bagging assembly 160 and
the snout 172 also allows the bag 180 to be easily positioned on,
and remain secured to, the snout 172. Often, different bags have
slightly different circumferential sizes due to manufacturing
tolerances. The snout 172 is expanded against the interior of the
bag 180 by the package 25-k while the package 25-k is being ejected
into the bag 180. In certain embodiments, the bagging device 170
includes a pressure controller 174 which senses pressure of the
snout 172 against the inner circumference of the bag 180. The
pressure sensor 174 eliminates the previous practice where the bags
were often held on the snout with clamps, cranks, and/or manual
hand pressure.
[0080] During an initial operation of the packaging assembly 10,
the surge hopper doors 44 are open to allow the insulation material
25 to be dispersed directly into the weigh hopper assembly 16 and
accumulate as the weigh hopper insulation material 25-w. The surge
hopper doors 44 are then closed when a desired weight of insulation
material within the weigh chamber 60 is reached.
[0081] The closed surge hopper doors 44 allow additional surge
hopper insulation material 25-s to accumulate in the surge hopper
chamber 40. Meanwhile, the weigh hopper doors 64 are open and
dispensing the insulation material body 25-w into the compression
chamber 70. The insulation material 25 then re-accumulates as the
pre-compressed insulation material body 25-p. The weigh hopper
doors 64 are then closed, and the surge hopper doors 44 are again
opened to refill the weigh hopper chamber 60.
[0082] When the pre-compressed insulation material body 25-p has
been accumulated in the compression chamber 70, the side seal door
80 closes, partially compressing the insulation material 25-p. The
top seal door 90 also closes, thus forming the closed compression
chamber 70-p. The locking mechanism 100 is engaged and both the
side and top seal doors 80 and 90 are then locked into the arcuate
configuration. The compression door 120 is then pivotably closed,
following the arcuate configuration of the side and top seal doors
80 and 90, thereby forming the ramming chamber 130.
[0083] The compression door 120 compresses the compressed
insulation material 25-p against the perforated bottom wall 74 into
a rectangular-shaped compressed insulation material body 25-c
within the ramming chamber 130. The ramming assembly 140 then
extends the ram 142 so that the ram head 145 further compresses, or
compacts, the compressed insulation material body 25-c into a
smaller, rectangular-shaped, compressed package 25-k, ready for
bagging and discharge.
[0084] The discharge door 162 is then opened and the discharge ram
165 pushes the package 25-k into the bagging device 170 out the
snout 172 and into the bag 180. The ram 142 and the discharge ram
165 are retracted while the weigh hopper doors 64 are in a closed
position so that little or no build-up of insulation material
occurs behind the ram head 145.
[0085] As can be seen by referring to both FIG. 1A and FIG. 2B, the
insulation materials 25 is dispersed and then compressed in a
vertical direction along a Y axis. The compressed insulation
material is then compacted along an X axis. Thereafter, the
compacted package 25-k is moved and packaged along a Z axis. The Y
and Z axes thus define the horizontal planar orientation of the
ramming and bagging assemblies 140 and 160, respectively.
[0086] The downward vertical dispensing of the insulation material
is aided by the drawing air supplied by the air-withdrawing source
50. The negative, or drawn, pressure exerts a generally downward
vertical force on the bottoms of the accumulating insulation
material bodies 25-s, 25-w, 25-p and 25-c, thereby aiding in the
leveling, or evening out, of the profile height of the insulation
material bodies 25-s, 25-w, 25-p and 25-c. Also, the downward
vertical force at least partially aids in compressing the
insulation material into the accumulating insulation material
bodies 25-s, 25-w, 25-p and 25-c within the packaging assembly 10.
Since the insulation material bodies 25-s, 25-w, 25-p and 25-c are
at least somewhat compressed and/or held in the desired low-profile
manner, the height dimensions needed for the packaging assembly 10
do not need to be as great as in prior baggers
[0087] While the invention has been described with reference to
specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in
the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted for elements thereof without departing from the
essential scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications
may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the
teachings of the invention without departing from the essential
scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be
limited to the particular embodiments for carrying out this
invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments
falling within the scope of the claims.
* * * * *