GB2240533A

GB2240533A - Bag inflating and sealing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2240533A
Application number: GB9002344A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chaun-Shiang Chiang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-02-02
Filing date: 1990-02-02
Publication date: 1991-08-07
Also published as: GB9002344D0; FR2658157A3; FR2658157B3

Abstract

An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags comprises an air duct 40, 41, 42 connected to an air compressor for inflating a packing bag P, and a closing and heat sealing means (1, 2, 3, 10) for closing the packing bag about the end of the air duct during the inflating operation and for subsequently heat sealing bag. The closing and heat sealing means includes an anvil block 1 having pegs 11 to which the bag is attached, a first clamping member 2 cooperable with the anvil block 1 to close the bag while allowing the compressed air from the blower to enter the bag through the air conduit during the inflating operation, a heating element 10 on the anvil and a second clamping member 3 cooperable with the heating element to heat-seal the bag. The members and 3 are spring-mounted in a frame F3 which is initially pivotable down into an operable position. The anvil is raised through a motor driven cam mechanism to clamp the bag against member 2 around the air duct and is further raised after inflation to press the heating element against the member 3 with the bag there between to effect sealing. <IMAGE>

Description

INFLATING AND HEAT SEALING APPARATUS FOR PLASTIC PACKING BAGS The present invention relates generally to an apparatus adapted to inflate and heat seal plastic packing bags used for receiving fragile articles such as flower and the like.

Despite the fact that substantial need has been directed to flower products in international markets, difficulties in packing, accumulating, transporting and storing such fragile articles have limited the quantity of this kind of products in international trade.

Nevertheless, not even one simple protection technique for such fragile articles has been successfully developed so far.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an inflating and heat sealing apparatus adapted to inflate and heat seal the plastic packing bags into which fragile articles have been filled, thereby solving the above-described problems in the protection of fragile articles such as flower products.

In accordance with the present invention, an inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags comprises an inflating means for inflating the packing bag, including a blower, and an air conduit for introducing the compressed air from the blower to the packing bag; a closing and heat sealing means for closing the packing bag during the inflating operation and for heat sealing the entrance portion of the packing bag after the inflating operation has been finished, including an anvil block to which the packing bag to be inflated and heat sealed is attached, a first clamping member adapted to press and thus close the entrance portion of the packing bag against the anvil block while allowing the compressed air from the blower to enter the packing bag during the inflating operation of the packing bag, a heating element for heat sealing the entrance portion of the packing bag after the inflating operation has been finished, and a second clamping member adapted to clamp and press the entrance portion of the packing bag against the heating element for facilitating the heat sealing operation, the first clamping member and the anvil block being relatively movable toward or away from each other, and the second clamping member and -the heating element being relatively movable toward or away from each other; and a driving mechanism adapted to drive the closing and heat sealing means for making the first clamping member and the anvil block move toward or away from each other, and making the second clamping member and the heating element move toward or away from each other.

The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, which form an integral part of this application: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the construction of the inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags shown in Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view showing the shape of the first clamping member and the arrangement of the first clamping member, the anvil block and the air conduit during the inflating operation of the packing bag; Fig. 4 is a side view of the inflating and heat sealing apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating the state of the apparatus prior to the inflating operation wherein the suspension frame is turned to a slant position for the preparation of the inflating operation; Fig. 5 is a side view of the inflating and heat sealing apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating the state during the inflating operation of the packing bag; and Fig. 6 is a side view similar to Fig. 5 illustrating the state during the heat sealing operation of the packing bag.

The construction and operation of the inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the above accompanying drawings.

The inflating and heat sealing apparatus of the present invention is utilized to first inflate a plastic bag in which some fragile articles have been filled, and then heat seal the plastic bag. This apparatus comprises a frame, an inflating means for inflating the packing bag P, a closing and heat sealing means for closing the entrance portion of the packing bag during the inflating operation of the packing bag and for heat sealing the entrance portion of the packing bag after the inflating operation has been finished, and a driving mechanism 5 (Fig. 2) adapted to drive the closing and heat sealing means for closing and heat sealing the plastic bag P.

As can be seen from Figs. 1 and 4, the frame includes a main frame having a substantially L-shaped cross section which comprises a vertical frame F1 and a horizontal frame F2, and a pair of suspension frames F3 which are pivotablly connected to the vertical frame F1 in a cantiver manner and may be turned together about a common pivot center (not shown). Further, within the frame F is also provided with a latch arm FO which may be operated from the exterior of the frame to lock the pair of suspension frames F3 when the latter are turned in or opposite to the direction of arrow U to a desired angular position.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, the inflating means comprises a blower (not shown) provided within the vertical frame Fl for producing compressed air, and an air conduit for introducing the compressed air from the blower into the packing bag. The air conduit includes a conduit portion 40, a bellow portion 41 and an exit portion 42.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the closing and heat sealing means mainly comprises an anvil block 1, a first clamping member 2, a second clamping member 3, and an elongated instantaneous heating element 10. The anvil block 1 is installed over the horizontal frame F2 and may be driven by the driving mechanism 5 (Fig. 2) to move in the vertical direction. On the back side of the anvil block 1 are provided with two pegs 11 to which the open end of the the packing bag P to be inflated and heat sealed may be attached. The afore-mentioned exit portion 42 of the air conduit rests on the top surface of the anvil block 1 and is vertically movable together with the anvil block 1 through the provision of the bellow portion 41 connected to the exit portion 42.The first clamping member 2 is located over the anvil block 1 and adapted to press the entrance portion of the packing bag P against the top surface of the anvil block 1 and the exit portion 42 of the air conduit (see Figs. 3 and 5) for closing the plastic bag P while allowing the compressed air from the blower to enter the packing bag P through the exit portion 42 of the air conduit during the inflating operation of the packing bag P. The second clamping member 3 is also located over the anvil block 1 and comprises a contact portion 31 preferably made of heat resistance material such as Teflon, which directly contacts the packing bag P when the anvil block 1 is raised by the driving mechanism 5 to an upper position (see Fig. 6) during the heat sealing operation, and a supporting portion 32 adapted to support the contact portion 31.The heating element 10 is installed on the part of the top surface of the anvil block 1 exactly under the second clamping member 3 and is pressed against the contact portion 31 of the clamping member 3 with the entrance portion of the packing bag P being clamped between the heating element 10 and the second clamping member 3 during the heat sealing operation.

The way of supporting the first clamping member 2 and the second clamping member 3 will now be described mainly by referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. First, a supporting member 6 comprising a pair of parallel vertical side portions 61 and a horizontal portion 62 connected therebetween is secured to the undersurfaces of the pair of suspension frames F3. A vertical guiding slot 63 is provided in each side portion 61. An elongated transverse member 7 parallel to the first clamping member 2 is fixed, at its two ends, to the two side portions 61 of the suspension member 6.As shown in Fig. 3, the first clamping member 2 comprises a substantially rectangular main portion 21, a pair of protrusions 22 which is shorter than the guiding slot 63 and extends sideward from the upper portion of each side edge of the main portion 21, and a notch 23 formed in the lower edge of the main portion 21 of which the shape is designed to be identical to and slightly larger than the outer sizes of the exit portion 42 of the air conduit so as to ensure that the entrance portion of the packing bag P pressed by the first clamping member 2 against the top surface of the anvil block 1 and the exit portion 42 of the air conduit may be firmly closed to reduce possible air leakage during the inflating operation.Each of the two protrusions 22 respectively extends into and may slide within the guiding slot 63 provided in the supporting member 6 which enables the vertical movement of the first clamping member 2 through the guidance of the guiding slots 63. At least two helical springs 64 are provided between the upper edge of the first clamping member 2 and the undersurface of the horizontal portion 62 of the supporting member 6 to act as a cushion for avoiding impact between the supporting member 6 and the first clamping member 2 when the latter is raised b the anvil block l (see also Fig. 6).In addition, from the upper edge of the first clamping member 2 toward the transverse member 7 extend two brackets 24 each of which is installed thereon with an adjusting screw 25 whose free end is supported by the upper edge of the transverse member 7 so that the vertical position of the first clamping member 2 relative to the transverse member 7 and thus to the anvil block 1 may be adjusted by the use of these adjusting screws 25. The second clamping member 3 are supported under the transverse member 7 by two guiding posts 33 suspending from the transverse member 7 with a plurality of springs 34 being interposed between the transverse member 7 and the second clamping member 3 so as to allow a cushiony relative movement between the second clamping member 3 and the transverse member 7.

The construction of the driving mechanism 5 will now be described with reference, in particular, to Fig. 2.

As shown in the figure, the driving mechanism 5 installed within the horizontal frame F2 comprises a pair of bearings 50 mounted on the bottom of the horizontal frame F2, a transmission shaft 51 supported by the bearings 50, two cams 52 fixed to the shaft 51 for driving two cam followers 12 connected to the undersurface of the anvil block 1 through the rolling contact between the cams 52 and two rollers 13 pivoted to the cam followers 12 so as to raise or lower the anvil block 1, a motor M for driving the shaft 51, and reduction gears 53 (only one is shown in the figure) for reducing the revolution speed of the motor shaft.In addition, the driving mechanism 5 includes a normal closed switch 55 and an eccentric rotary arm 54 attached to the end of the shaft 51 so that the rotary arm 54 may touch the switch 55 to turn off the power when one cycle of the inflating and heat sealing operation for a plastic bag is completed. Namely, at the end of every inflating and heat sealing operation cycle for one packing bag P, the rotary arm 54 will actuate the switch 55 for temporarily stopping the motor M so that the operator may make preparation for the next operation cycle. As can be seen from Fig. 1, a push button S adapted to start an operation cycle for the inflating and heat sealing apparatus is also provided in the frame.

The operation of the inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags in accordance with the present invention will be described as follows. First, the entrance portion of the packing bag P to be inflated is partially wrapped around the exit portion 42 of the air conduit and also hooked with the pegs 11 when the vertically movable anvil block 1 is at its lowest position and the pair of suspension frames F3 are turned from a vertical position (see Fig. 5) to a slant position (see Fig. 4) in the direction of arrow U (see also Fig.

1). Then, the suspension frame F3, together with the first clamping member 2 and the second clamping member 3 etc. supported thereby, is turned back to its vertical position (Fig. 5) to close the packing bag P (see also Fig. 3), and the push button S is depressed so as to actuate the blower for inflating the packing bag P through the air conduit. After a predetermined period, the blower is automatically turned off through the use of a timer (not shown), while the shaft 51 and the cams 52 continue turning to raise the anvil block 1 to its highest position wherein the entrance portion of the packing bag P is pressed against the second clamping member 3 (Fig. 6) and heat sealed by the heating element 10. After the heat sealing operation has been finished, the anvil block 1 is lowered to its lowest position (see Fig. 5) wherein the eccentric rotary arm 54 attached to the shaft 51 touches the normal closed switch 55 to turn off the power of the motor M and the heating element 10.

Finally, the inflated and heat sealed packing bag P may be taken off from the inflating and heat sealing apparatus and the whole operating cycle for this packing bag is completed. The same procedure may then be repeated for another packing bag.

Claims

1. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags, comprising: an inflating means for inflating the packing bag, including a blower for supplying compressed air, and an air conduit for introducing the compressed air from the blower to the packing bag; a closing and heat sealing means for closing the entrance portion of the packing bag during the inflating operation and for heat sealing the entrance portion of the packing bag after the inflating operation has been finished, including an anvil block to which the packing bag to be inflated and heat sealed is attached, a first clamping member adapted to press the entrance portion of the packing bag against the anvil block for closing the packing bag while allowing the compressed air from the blower to enter the packing bag through the air conduit during the inflating operation of the packing bag, a heating element for heat sealing the entrance portion of the packing bag after the inflating operation has been finished, and a second clamping member adapted to clamp and press the entrance portion of the packing bag against the heating element for facilitating the heat sealing operation, the first clamping member and the anvil block being relatively movable toward or away from each other, and the second clamping member and the heating element being relatively movable toward or away from each other; and a driving mechanism adapted to drive the closing and heat sealing means for making the first clamping member and the anvil block move toward or away from each other, and for making the second clamping member and the heating element move toward or away from each other.

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2. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heating element is installed on the anvil block and opposes the second clamping member.

3. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism is adapted to move the anvil block toward or away from the first clamping member.

4. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags as claimed in claim 2, wherein the driving mechanism is adapted to move the anvil block toward or away from the first and second clamping members.

5. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags as claimed in claim 4, wherein the driving mechanism comprises at least one cam which is adapted to move the anvil block to a first lower position wherein the anvil block is spaced from the second clamping member, and to a second upper position wherein the anvil block is pressed against the second clamping member and the packing bag to be heat sealed is clamped between the second clamping member and the heating element for performing heat sealing operation.

6. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags as claimed in claim 5, wherein the air conduit in the inflating means comprises an exit portion resting on the anvil block in a manner capable of being raised or lowered together with the anvil block.

7. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bags as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second clamping member comprises a contact portion made of heat resistance material, which directly contacts the packing bag during the heat sealing operation.

8. An inflating and heat sealing apparatus for plastic packing bag substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6.