Premier Tech Technologies Ltee

André Albert

Steeve Santerre

An apparatus for repeatedly separating and displacing a topmost bag between a bag stack location and a second location. The apparatus comprises a separating manipulator having a prehension end-effector selectively activable/deactivable to seize and maintain the topmost bag and subsequently release the topmost bag. The separating manipulator is selectively configurable in a bag engaging configuration to seize a separation section of the topmost bag and a lifted configuration where the prehension end-effector is spaced-apart from a second topmost bag of the stack. The displacing manipulator has a prehension end-effector selectively activable/deactivable to seize and maintain a displacement engagement section of and to subsequently release the topmost bag. The prehension end-effector is translatable along the displacement axis 'X' to displace the topmost bag between the bag stack location and the second location. A method for repeatedly separating and displacing a topmost bag of a stack of bags is also provided.

Apparatus and method for repeatedly separating and displacing a topmost bag of a stack of bags

A displacement device is for preparing a bag for its installation at a filling point (or second location) of packaging equipment. The displacement device grabs the bag from the pick-up location (or stack) (at which first position and orientation parameters have been previously measured), displaces the bag while measuring second position and orientation parameters of the bag, adjusting the operation and displacement of the displacement device for displacing and installing the bag at the filling point; at the same time, the measurement of the next bag's first position and orientation parameters is done to adjust the operation and displacement of the displacement device for grabbing the next bag on the stack. Such a double location evaluation, which is concomitant on two different bags, allows savings in processing time.

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Riviere-du-Loup, Canada

André Albert