US3447706A - Bag opening and emptying machine - Google Patents

Description

June 3, 1969 E. J. MORIARTY BAG OPENING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Sheet Filed Oct. 9, 1967 FIG INVENTOR EDWARD J. MORIARTY June 3, 1969 J, RTY 3,447,706

BAG OPENING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Filed 001. 9, 1967 Sheet 2 of5 INVENTOR EDWARD J. M() IARTY ATT RNEY FIG. 2 zFZM/a June 3, 1969 E. J. MORIARTY 3,447,706

BAG OPENING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Filed Oct. 9, 1967 Sheet 3 of 5 INVENTOR EDWARD J .MOR/IARTY f zz v ATT EY J1me 1969 E. J. MORIARTY 3,

BAG OPENING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Filed Oct. 9, 1967 Sheet 4 of 5 INVENTOR EDWARD J. MORIARTY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,447,706 BAG OPENING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Edward J. Moriarty, 8821 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 Filed Oct. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 673,762 Int. Cl. B65b 21/02, 69/00; B65g 65/04 US. Cl. 214-305 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for slitting a bag containing free flowing particles of material, vibrating the bag to empty the same, and an elongate member for ejecting the empty bag from the machine. The machine has one or more knifes which alternately are moved in opposite directions by rfiuid pressure controlled mechanism. The operation of the bag ejecting member is controlled by a timer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field 0] the invention The present invention relates to material handling apparatus, and more particularly to a machine for opening bags or sacks and emptying the contents thereof into another receptacle.

Description of the prior art Heretofore, bag Opening and emptying machines have been devised but these machines were not entirely satisfactory because of slitting, emptying and ejecting problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved bag opening and emptying machine which is not subject to the difliculties heretofore encountered.

Another object is to provide such a machine which assures proper opening of the bag and rapid and complete emptying thereof.

Another object is to provide such a machine which ejects the bag after a suflicient duration of time has elapsed to assure that the bag is empty.

Another object is to provide such a machine which enables the bags to be positioned either manually or by automation for proper slitting and ejection.

Another object is to provide such a machine which goes through its cycle of operation in response to placing a bag in position for opening and emptying.

A further object is to provide such a machine which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and reliable in use.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are generally accomplished by providing a machine which comprises a frame, a basket supported by the frame having a series of spaced apart rods for supporting a bag filled with free flowing particles of material, knife means between adjacent rods positioned to slit the underside of the bag, means for moving the knife means to form a slit in the underside of the bag, means for vibrating the basket to cause the material to flow through the slit in the bag whereby the bag is emptied, tine means between adjacent rods and pivotally mounted 3,447,706 Patented June 3, 1969 (BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bag opening and emptying machine in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the machine shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a vibrating mechanism located at the back of the machine.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 on FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the knife means cylinder control circuit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the ejection cylinder control circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT General description 07 the machine Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings in detail, there is shown a bag opening and emptying machine which generally comprises a frame 10', a basket 11 supported by the frame for supporting a bag (not shown) filled with particles of free flowing material, knife mechanism 12 for slitting the underside of the bag, vibrating mechanism 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4) for inducing the flow of material from the slitted bag to empty the same, and mechanism 15 for ejecting the empty bag from the machine.

Frame and basket structure The frame 10 comprises an upper rectangular frame member 16, a vertical leg 17 at each corner of the frame member, a triangular shelf member 18 at each corner of the frame member, a hemispherical yieldable member 19 secured on the upper side of each shelf member, and a vertical plate 20 at one side of the frame member for mounting the motor of the vibrating mechanism 14 as described hereinafter.

The basket 11 comprises an upper rectangular plate 21 having a circular opening 22, a hemispherical yieldable member 24 secured to the underside of the plate at each corner thereof and seated on one of the members 19 to resiliently support the basket on the frame whereby vibration of the basket is facilitated, an upright tube 25 having its upper end fitted into the plate opening 22 secured thereto by vertical radially extending web members 26, a flexible fabric tube 27 (FIG. 2) secured to the lower end of the tube 25 for conducting the material emptied out of the bag to a bin or hopper (not shown), a plurality of parallel spaced apart bowed bag supporting rods 28 secured to the tube 25 near its upper end, and a horizontal vibrator connecting bracket 29 secured to the exterior of the tube 25 and positioned beneath the plate 20.

Knife mechanism The knife mechanism 12 comprises a shaft 30 journalled for rotation on the frame 10 and extending beneath and perpendicularly with respect to the bag supporting rods 28, arms 31 mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith between adjacent rods 28, a knife 32 at the end of each arm 31 for slitting the bag, an air operated motor including a cylinder 34 pivotally mounted on the frame at 33, a piston 35 and a piston rod 36 and being valved for reciprocating movement, and a bell crank 37 on the shaft and linked to the free end of the piston rod 36. The shaft thus rocks the knives clockwise and counterclockwise along an arc which passes through the bottom side of the bag to not only slit the bag but to also disturb a considerable portion of the material in the bag whereby flow thereof is induced. Also, by employing more than one knife, the bag is slit in several places whereby the time to empty the bag is greatly reduced.

As shown herein, the knives 32 are double edged and are formed with arcuate cutting surfaces 38. This enables the knives to slit one bag while moving clockwise and to slit the next bag while moving counter-clockwise whereby a return stroke of the knives during each operating cycle is eliminated but the return stroke in the next operating cycle becomes the cutting stroke. Such an arrangement is highly advantageous because wear on the knife mechanism is reduced by one-half. Also, the knives by being double edged need only be removed for sharpening only half as often.

Vibrating mechanism The vibrating mechanism 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4) comprises a motor mounted on the plate 20' with its drive shaft 41 extending downwardly, a shaft 42 journalled for rotation in bearing means 44 on the bracket 29, a pair of thick plates 45 eccentrically secured to the shaft 42 for rotation therewith, and a flexible shaft 46 connecting the motor shaft 41 and the eccentric shaft 42.

By positioning one plate 45 above the bearing means and the other plate below the bearing means, the forces exerted on bearing means are balanced.

By being eccentrically mounted, the plates 45 upon being rotated impart vibration to the bracket 29 which vibration is transmitted to the tube 25 and the bag supporting rods 28 on the tube to shake the bag and cause material to flow therefrom and into the tubes 25 and 26.

Ejecting mechanism The bag ejecting mechanism 15 comprises a horizontal shaft 50 journalled for rotation at one side of the frame and being parallel with respect to the shaft 30, elongate means such as structure having bent tines 51 positioned between and below adjacent bag supporting rods 28 and having a U-shaped extension 52 for mounting the fork structure for pivotal movement on the shaft 50, and a reciprocating air operated motor including a cylinder 54 pivotally mounted on the frame 10 at 55, a piston 56 and a piston rod 57 linked to the extension 52 at 58.

The ejecting mechanism is arranged so that when the piston 57 is moved to its lowermost position, the free ends of the tines 51 are swung upwardly and outwardly beyond the frame 10. As this occurs, the empty bag is lifted from the bag supporting rods 28 and is dropped to the side of the frame.

Knife mechanism control circuit In FIG. 5, a control circuit for the knife mechanism motor is shown diagrammatically and includes conventional air operated valve and valve actuator elements. These elements have not been illustrated in detail in FIGS. 1 to 4 because their construction and operation will be better understood by their schematic disclosure.

These elements include a three-way Automatic Valve Co. valve 60 which is operated by a return spring 59 and by a lever 61 (FIGS. 1 and 2) extending between and above a pair of rods 28 and being moved downwardly by the weight of the bag when placed on the rods. A four-way Clippard valve 62 has actuators 63 and 64 which respectively are controlled by identical Clippard four- way valves 65 and 66 each having an actuator 67 and a return spring 68. A four-way Allenair valve 69 has actuators 70 and 71 and is in fluid flow connection with port 72 and 73 at opposite ends of the motor cylinder 34.

When the valve 60 is operated, the actuator of the valve 65 is pressurized causing this valve to close, and the actuator 63 of the valve 62 is exhausted. Simultaneously, the actuator 70 of the valve 69 is pressurized to shift this valve to a position so that air enters the cylinder at 72 whereupon the piston rod 36 is extended and the knife shaft 30 is turned counterclockwise causing the knives to slit the bag. When the bag is almost empty or its weight has decreased substantially, the return spring '59 of the valve 60 causes this valve to exhaust. This also causes the actuator of the valve 65 to be exhausted and causes the actuator 63 of the valve 62 to be pressurized whereupon the valve 62 is shifted.

When the valve 60- is again operated by the next bag, the actuator of the valve 66 is pressurized causing this valve to close, and the actuator 64 of the valve 62 is exhausted. Simultaneously, the actuator 71 of the valve 69 is pressurized to shift this valve to a position so that air enters the cylinder at 73 whereupon the piston rod 36 is retracted and the knife shift 30 is turned clockwise causing the knives to slit the bag. When the bag is almost empty or its weight has decreased substantially, the return spring 59 of the valve 60 causes this valve to exhaust. This also causes the actuator of the valve 66 to be exhausted and causes the actuator 64 of the valve 62 to be pressurized whereupon the valve 62 is shifted.

The knife mechanism control circuit has now been restored to its original position and is ready to repeat its cycle of operation upon actuation of the lever 61.

Bag ejecting mechanism control circuit In FIG. 6, a control circuit for the bag ejecting mechanism motor is shown diagrammatically which generally includes a source of electricity 75, a main switch 76, a control switch 77, a timer 78, a reversing switch 79, a mechanism for operating the reversing switch, and a control valve 81 for the bag ejecting mechanism motor and the mechanism 80.

The mechanism 80 comprises a cylinder 82 having ports 83 and 84 at opposite ends, a piston 85 in the cylinder 81, and a piston rod 86 having a lateral arm 87 for operating the reversing switch 79.

The reversing switch has two operating arms 88 and 89 ninety degrees apart. When the piston rod 86 is retracted, the arm 87 engages the horizontally positioned arm 88 and moves it into a vertical position while moving the arm 89 into a horizontal position. When the piston rod 86 is extended, the arm 87 engages the horizontally positioned arm 89 and moves it back into its vertical position while returning the arm 88 to its horizontal position.

The bag ejecting mechanism motor includes the cylinder 54 which has ports 90 and 91 at opposite ends, the piston 56 and the piston rod 57.

The switch 77 puts the timer 78 in operation when a bag of material contacts the lever 61. The timer is constructed and arranged to close its contacts twice momentarily in cycle of operation, namely, when a sufficient duration of times has elapsed for the bag to be emptied and the bag is to be ejected and when the bag has been emptied.

The control valve 81 is a four-way Allenair valve which has ports 92 and 93 respectively connected to cylinder ports 83 and 90 and cylinder ports 84 and 91, and has solenoids 95 and 96 for shifting its valve member.

One side of the source of electricity 75 is connected to a terminal 97 of the solenoid 95 and a terminal 98 of the solenoid 96. The main switch 76, the control switch 77 and the timer 78 are connected in series in the other side of the source. A terminal 99 of the timer is connected to a terminal 100 of the reversing switch 79, and terminals 101 and 102 of the switch 79 are respectively connected to a terminal 103 of the solenoid 95 and a terminal 104 of the solenoid 96.

The vibrator motor 40 is directly connected to one side and is connected to the other side through the main switch 76 so that the motor keeps running while the main switch is closed.

In operation with the main switch closed, momentary closing of the contacts of the timer 78 energizes the solenoid 95 of the valve 81 to position the valve so that air is supplied to the cylinder ports 83 and 90 whereupon the piston rod 57 is extended to raise the bag ejecting tines 51, and the piston rod 86 is retracted to reverse the switch 79. The next momentary closing of the timer contacts energizes the solenoid 96 of the valve 81 to position the valve so that air is supplied to the cylinder ports 84 and 91 whereupon the piston rod 57 is retracted, to return the bag ejecting tines 51, and the piston rod 86 is extended to reverse the switch 79.

The bag ejecting mechanism control circuit has now been restored to its original position and is ready to repeat its cycle of operation with each operation of the timer 78 by the control switch 77.

SUMMATION From the foregoing description it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved bag opening and emptying machine which responds to the weight of a filled bag to initiate an automatic cycle of operation. The machine is sturdy in construction and can withstand such rough usage to which it may normally be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

'1. A bag opening and emptying machine comprising a frame, an open bottom basket, yieldable elements between said frame and said basket for supporting said basket on said frame to facilitate vibration of said basket, a pair of parallel members for supporting a bag filled with free flowing particles of material and having a space therebetween, a rotatable shaft on said frame at right angles to said members, an arm on said shaft, a knife on said arm positioned to move within said space and to slit the underside of the bag, means for rotating said shaft to cause said knife to move in an arcuate path and slit the underside of the bag, means for vibrating said basket to cause the material to flow through the slit in the bag whereby the bag is emptied, tine means positioned in said space and below the bag, means for pivotally mounting one end of said tine means on said frame, and mechanism for operating said last mentioned means to swing said tine means upwardly and outwardly of said frame and thereby lift the emptied bag and eject it from the machine.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said knife has two edges, and said shaft rotating means are constructed and arranged to alternately move said knife in opposite directions.

3. -A machine according to claim 1, wherein said members are rigid rods secured to said basket at the upper end thereof.

4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein additional parallel members are provided with each adjacent pair having a space therebetween, and a sufficient number of arms and knives are operated by said shaft to provide a knife in each space to thereby form a plurality of slits in the bag whereby the bag emptying tine is shortened.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,031,869 2/1936 Trouth 2l4--305 2,930,501 3/1960 Cotterell 2l4--305 3,224,609 12/ 1965 Dietert 214-305 HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner,

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