Horizontal bag packing machine
A horizontal poly bubble bagging machine includes one or more vertically extending magazines, each for holding a stack of poly bubble-bags in a horizontal orientation, one or more de-stack assemblies for retrieving a poly bubble bag from a corresponding magazine, and one or more bag transport assemblies for moving the retrieved horizontally oriented poly bubble bag from the magazine to a staging area and further to a fill and seal area for loading and sealing items into the bag.
1 . A horizontal bag packing machine, comprising:
a magazine configured to contain a plurality of stacked product packing bags in horizontal orientation; and
a bag transport assembly for transporting a bag dispensed from the magazine to a fill and seal area configured to open the dispensed bag to allow filling the open bag with product and to seal the filled bag;
wherein the magazine comprises a plurality of upwardly extending members configured to contain the stack of bags, and wherein a position of at least two of the plurality of upwardly extending members is adjustable to accommodate bags of various size in the magazine.
2 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 1 , further comprising a de-stack assembly operable to separate a lowermost bag in the stack from the magazine.
3 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 1 , further comprising a transfer mechanism operable to transport a dispensed bag to a staging area.
4 . The horizonal bag packing machine of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of magazines, wherein each of the plurality of magazines is configured to contain a stack of bags.
5 . A horizontal bag packing machine, comprising:
a plurality of magazines, wherein each of the plurality of magazines is configured to contain a plurality of stacked product packing bags in horizontal orientation; and
a bag transport assembly for transporting a bag dispensed from any of the magazines to a fill and seal area configured to open the dispensed bag to allow filling the open bag with product and to seal the filled bag;
wherein at least one of the plurality of magazines is configured to contain a stack of bags differing in size from a size of bags in another of the plurality of magazines.
6 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 5 , wherein the fill and seal area comprises an upper heat seal bar and a lower heat seal bar, wherein the upper heat seal bar is moveable with respect to the lower heat seal bar.
7 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 6 , wherein each of the upper heat seal bar and lower heat seal bar comprise a suction cup configured to grip a surface of a bag upon application of a vacuum, a bag gripper jaw configured to clamp a bag against the respective heat seal bar, and a heating element configured to apply heat to a surface of the bag in contact with the respective heat seal bar.
8 . A horizontal bag packing machine, comprising:
a plurality of magazines, wherein each magazine is configured to contain a plurality of stacked product packing bags in horizontal orientation;
a plurality of de-stack assemblies, wherein each de-stack assembly is associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of magazines, and wherein each de-stack assembly is operable to separate a single bag from the respective magazine;
a bag transport assembly for transporting a bag dispensed from any of the magazines to a fill and seal area configured to open the dispensed bag to allow filling the open bag with product and to seal the filled bag;
wherein each of the plurality of magazines comprises a plurality of upwardly extending members configured to contain a stack of bags, and wherein a position of at least two of the upwardly extending members of each magazine is adjustable to accommodate bags of various size in the respective magazine.
9 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 8 , further comprising a transfer mechanism operable to transport a dispensed bag to a staging area.
10 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 8 , wherein the fill and seal area comprises an upper heat seal bar and a lower heat seal bar, wherein the upper heat seal bar is moveable with respect to the lower heat seal bar.
11 . The horizontal bag packing machine of claim 10 , wherein each of the upper heat seal bar and lower heat seal bar comprise a suction cup configured to grip a surface of a bag upon application of a vacuum, a bag gripper jaw configured to clamp a bag against the respective heat seal bar, and a heating element configured to apply heat to a surface of the bag in contact with the respective heat seal bar.
12 . A method of filling a packing bag on a horizontal bag packing machine, comprising:
providing a horizontal bag packing machine comprising:
a plurality of magazines, each magazine configured to contain a plurality of product packing bags arranged in horizontal orientation, wherein each of the plurality of magazines comprises a plurality of upwardly extending members configured to contain a stack of bags, and wherein a position of at least two of the plurality of upwardly extending members is adjustable to accommodate bags of various size in each of the plurality of magazines;
a plurality of de-stack assemblies, wherein each de-stack assembly is associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of magazines, and wherein each de-stack assembly is operable to separate a single bag from the respective magazine;
a transfer assembly operable to move a bag dispensed from a magazine to a staging area; and
a bag transport assembly for transporting a bag dispensed from the staging areas to a fill and seal area;
dispensing a bag from one of the plurality of magazines using the corresponding de-stack assembly;
moving the bag to the fill and seal area and opening the bag;
loading product into the opened bag; and
sealing the filled bag.
13 . A method of filling a packing bag on a horizontal bag packing machine, comprising:
providing a horizontal bag packing machine comprising:
a plurality of magazines, each magazine configured to contain a plurality of product packing bags arranged in horizontal orientation, wherein at least one of the plurality of magazines is configured to contain a stack of bags differing in size from a size of bags in another of the plurality of magazines;
a plurality of de-stack assemblies, wherein each de-stack assembly is associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of magazines, and wherein each de-stack assembly is operable to separate a single bag from the respective magazine;
a transfer assembly operable to move a bag dispensed from a magazine to a staging area; and
a bag transport assembly for transporting a bag dispensed from the staging areas to a fill and seal area;
dispensing a bag from one of the plurality of magazines using the corresponding de-stack assembly;
moving the bag to the fill and seal area and opening the bag;
loading product into the opened bag; and
sealing the filled bag.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the fill and seal area comprises an upper heat seal bar and a lower heat seal bar, wherein the upper heat seal bar is moveable with respect to the lower heat seal bar.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein each of the upper heat seal bar and lower heat seal bar comprise a suction cup configured to grip a surface of a bag upon application of a vacuum, a bag gripper jaw configured to clamp a bag against the respective heat seal bar, and a heating element configured to apply heat to a surface of the bag in contact with the respective heat seal bar.